Fear And Regret
by KaLeRei
Summary: Is the life of an avenger all Sasuke Uchiha was destined to live? An event forces him back to Konoha, where he finds long-lost bonds, and repairs them... but long-standing threats still loom over him. COMPLETE! Prelude to More Than Words Could Ever Say.
1. Chapter 1: Memories Of The Past

::Well, the inspiration for this story hit me a few months ago, I decided to work off that plot and make a fanfic out of it. So, I thought of making one about my favorite Anime, The Naruto Series.

::I already put up this story… but I decided to add a few things… so here I go again…

::So, here it goes. My first ever fanfic, hopefully it won't suck as much as I think…

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**"****FEAR AND REGRET****"**

**Chapter 1: ****Memories****Of**** The Past**

"No… don't kill them… please!" the dark-haired boy ran for his life, from his brother… who killed everyone… everyone he loved… "Run, run, cling to life…" he heard his bother say… until…

It was a dark, rainy night, as the youngest Uchiha wakes up at the Konoha Hospital, lying in bed, not fully recovered from his past battle's injuries. Wondering how he ended up in there anyway, he can't recall returning to Konoha since three years ago, the night he turned his back on his friends, his home… everything. He did all that for power, and to achieve his only goal… to kill his brother. He cursed under his breath as he finds out he couldn't find the strength to stand up. He needed to leave. He didn't belong here anymore. But there was something inside him, something that prevented him from getting the heck out of there, he doesn't want to admit it to himself, but he felt better, he felt at home for the first time in years.

Then, he hears a sound, and immediately faces the bed next to him, it turns out to just be one of his old teammates, Sakura Haruno. She's grown stronger, and more beautiful since he came back to Konoha, she's not the weak little pink-haired girl he could control from the palm of his hand.

Sasuke didn't know why, or for how long he just lay there, staring at her, hearing –no, listening to her breathe. Until finally, he gave in to sleepiness and dozed off.

The next evening, Sasuke found himself awakened by a rather familiar voice. Annoying you might say. Turns out it was just his other old teammate, Naruto Uzumaki.

The blonde haired shinobi turns in his direction and says, "Hey Sasuke, feeling better?"

"Yeah I guess." He answered. Still dazed and confused.

"You really took it didn't you. It was amazing, what you did." The guy in the ridiculously orange jumpsuit stated.

"What exactly did I do? And how did I end up here?" Sasuke asked, obviously not himself. If he was, he would be raging to escape, to find his brother, to get revenge. That was his only goal, the thing he revolved his life around, he left home for three years for it. But no, not today, he was too confused to remember.

"You left home remember? You turned your back on everything, but we never stopped looking for you. We finally got to you three days ago, Sakura-chan, Kakashi-sensei and me were on a mission to get information on the Akatsuki. Surprisingly, we got some information about you as well. You've been tracking them for days. On that day, we decided to get in their hideout. We saw you there, Sakura-chan immediately took after you while me and Kakashi-sensei took care of the guards. We caught up with her after a while, but you were already knocked out, your brother was gone, and she was just able to tell us the story. You caught the attack your brother aimed at her, you saved her life man."

"Really? Well, I guess I did." Replied Sasuke. Thinking that something like that was-out-of-character for him, still asking himself why he did that.

Just as Sasuke was fighting a battle of thoughts, the pink-haired kunoichi woke up.

"Sakura-chan, are you okay?" Naruto asked inquiringly.

"Yes, thanks" she replied. "How's Sasuke-kun?"

"You can ask him yourself… I'm fine." Sasuke says. Deciding finally to play along and stay for a while. He needed a break. He WANTED one.

"Thank you so much for saving me. But, not to sound unappreciative, why did you? You were so close at getting to Itachi. You could've killed him." She said with a smile.

"Hn." As Sasuke-like as ever. He actually wasn't sure why, 'it was just instinct' he keeps telling himself. Though he can't help but feel otherwise.

He speaks again, "Hey Naruto, when can I get out of here? –the Hospital I mean."

"Well, Tsunade-sama says you have to stay until all your wounds heal up. You almost died you know."

"Hn." He replied. He hated being in the hospital, it was a boring, lonely place, not that he was new to loneliness or anything. He then took a fruit from the bowl on the table next to his bed, sat up, and began to eat, quietly, and stared at his blanket as if thinking of something really deep. In truth, he was.

"Hey, Sakura-chan, remember the day Sasuke was in the hospital, he looked somewhat like that, saying nothing looking really depressed or thinking or something, and then suddenly challenges me to a fight!" Naruto whispers. He doesn't know why he said and thought that.

"Shut up Naruto. Don't be silly."Sakura replies.

Sasuke immediately puts his 'death glare' to good use.

Naruto wasn't surprised with Sasukes reaction, he's seen that glare thousands of times when they were younger. Though he must admit, it looks way creepier with the sharingan active. "It's just that you reminded me of that day." He adds hastily. Not wanting to make anyone angry at the moment.

"Don't worry. That was a long time ago. Things have changed. I don't have to challenge you anymore, I can beat you any day. But, I don't see any benefits in crushing you, if I already know I can." Sasuke says with a smug smile on his face. He then lied back down and pretended to sleep, he remembered that day, that fight on the hospital roof.

_"Wow, he still acts like that after three years, arrogant as ever…I can't believe he's still underestimating me… oh well, at least we finally got him back." _Naruto thought. He was happy that they finally got Sasuke back, he was always his best friend, even after he left Konoha.

Meanwhile, Sakura and Naruto begin to chat.

"You remember that day, right?" Naruto asks.

"Of course I do. I was really worried about the both of you. Anyway, where's Hinata?" She replied. Not really wanting to recall that day.

"She's out with Tenten, training, I think." Naruto answers. He's been seeing Hinata for a while now, and she's never failed to cheer him up, to be there for him. But today, he wanted to see his old teammates alone. Just like old times.

Just then, the nurse came in and told them to let the two rest.

"Take care Sakura-chan!" Naruto said, closing the door behind him.

"So, Sasuke, how has your three years been?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke sat up and decided to talk to her, there's no harm in that anyway. Seeing he'll be stuck in the hospital for at least a few more days.

"Well… how do you think being stuck with a weirdo that wants to live forever by transferring from peoples bodies? He did make me more powerful though. I killed that dobe before I searched for my brother. He tried to use me, I don't think so." He replied sternly.

"Oh… okay." She replied. Thinking Sasuke might have taken the question badly.

_"He's been through a lot. I can see he doesn't __wanna__ talk about it. I want him to stay, this time I won't let him go, not that easily."_She thought.

"Well, goodnight then." She said. Then she slept.

"Don't go… please… I'll do anything!" Sasuke could hear her muttering in her sleep. "On that day, you taught me that solitude is painful… if you really have to go… take me with you!"

"Shit, no… not again…" Sasuke thought to himself.

Her words annoyed Sasuke worse than anything. He could remember that night. About three years ago, he just left her on that bench. He knew in himself he felt very guilty. He just doesn't want to admit it.

Uncertain why, but he thinks staying –even for just a while, would help in his revenge more than escaping and hunting Itachi again. Anyways, he couldn't find any use if he killed Naruto or Sakura, or anyone else for that matter anyway. If he did kill everyone, he would be just like his brother –we all know how much he doesn't want to do that.

He just lay there, staring at the ceiling, thoughts of the past filling his mind.

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::So… there you go! Chapter 1… basically tells you why and how Sasuke got back… 

::I hope it wasn't too bad…

::PLEASE REVIEW… it really means A LOT… if you see what I can improve on, please state it!

::Thanks in advance!!!


	2. Chapter 2: Changes In The Hidden Leaf

::I decided to update while our vacation lasts. Updates might be slower in the next chapters…

::So, here's chapter 2… I hope you enjoy!

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**Chapter 2: Changes ****In**** The Hidden Leaf**

A few days after that night at the hospital, Sasuke and Sakura are now well enough to leave. Naruto invited them to get some ramen – that hasn't changed.

Once at the ramen shop…

"Hey Sasuke! Glad you could make it!" Naruto said with excitement.

Sakura was already there, and so was Kakashi –his former teacher.

"I see you've grown Sasuke. How are things going?" the masked Jonin asked.

"Hn" he replied, but not in the snobbish way, more like acknowledging his presence. He then sat down and began to eat.

"Sasuke-kun! You're back!" they heard a voice from behind them. Turn's out it was Ino Yamanaka, a blonde-haired kunoichi, she was one of Sasuke's many fangirls from before, and Sakura's bestfriend.

"Yeah, I guess I am. You better not get any closer." He replied, as cold and indifferent as ever. He hated fangirls, a LOT.

"Oh, you don't think I'm still one of your mindless fangirls do you? I've grown up." She said proudly. "Besides, Kiba-kun looks way better than you do now. What's up with the dress? You look gay in that you know." Ino adds jokingly. Naruto and Kakashi laugh.

"Ino! Don't be like that!" Sakura barked.

"Only joking! You do know what a joke is right? You were always so serious back then. All you had was good looks and of course your skill. But you should seriously improve in the personality department. Especially after what you did to Sakura-chan" Ino said to Sasuke. She didn't like Sasuke anymore, and she doesn't like what he did to her best friend, even if they were rivals. Ino still says what's in her mind, but this time Sasuke is no exception.

"Hn" was all Sasuke could reply. He couldn't think of anything he could say. He hates being reminded of that night. He hates what he did to Sakura. Besides, he was surprised by how Ino reacted.

Kiba Inuzuka soon arrived with his dog, of course, "Hey Sasuke! Get any closer to her… you die. Me and Akamaru will make sure of that" Kiba adds jokingly. He has also grown, Akamaru has grown a lot, looking more wolf-like now. Kiba knows that Ino has no feelings for Sasuke anymore, what she had was a crush, and they were young. She's not the obsessed-with-how-she-looks type anymore.

"Oh, I don't think so. She's all yours." Sasuke replies, his smugness smothered every word.

Sensing Kiba might take that as an insult to her, she immediately says "Anyway, it seems like you guys are busy catching up. We have to go meet up with Neji and Tenten. Bye!"

"Yeah, bye. See ya soon." Kiba adds as he and Ino begin to leave.

One reaching a few meters away…

"You sure you're okay with that? I think he just insulted you" Kiba asked Ino.

"No, its fine. You know how cold and arrogant he is. Anyway, it was true what he said… I am all yours." Ino said with a smile, and began to hold on to Kiba's arm.

"Well, if you say so… Come on Akamaru!" Kiba replies. And they soon leave.

Back in the ramen shop…

"What the heck was that about?" Sasuke said, out loud.

"Well, Kiba and Ino have been together for a while. A lot has changed since you left Sasuke-kun" Sakura explains.

"Yeah, I'm beginning to notice." He replied. Ino never talked to him like that before. She was always the preppy fangirl type.

"Anyway, me and Naruto have to go. We have a meeting with the Hokage." And Kakashi disappears with a 'poof'. "Bye, enjoy you guys!" Naruto adds before leaving.

"Tell me… what else has changed?" Sasuke asked.

"Well, everyone's gotten older. Gaara's the Kazekage now, Naruto and Hinata are together. So are Shikamaru and Temari. Obvoiusly, so are Tenten and Neji." Sakura answered.

"Do you really think I'm interested in knowing who's dating who?" Sasuke said.

"Well you asked about what has changed! If you wanted reports or something, ask someone else!" Sakura finally raises her voice. She's tired of Sasuke always rubbing her off.

"Sorry. What about you? Don't tell me you're going out with the Maito-Gai look-alike?" Sasuke asked jokingly.

"No." She answered.

"Oh, well who are you seeing?" He asked awkwardly. In truth this was what he was really interested in. He just doesn't wanna admit it.

"No one, not yet. Why do you care anyway?" She replied. She was still heartbroken after that night, but she can't reject the fact that she still had feelings for him.

"Hn. Anyway, no one would wanna go out with you. You're still weak, and you have a huge forehead." He said jokingly. Sasuke was relieved that she wasn't with anyone. He liked Sakura, he always did. He just couldn't admit it.

"EXCUSE ME!?! WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?" Sakura exclaimed.

"Oh nothing. You need a good ear-cleaning though." Sasuke loved to pick on her, even back when they were kids.

"Well, you better watch what you're saying. Good-bye" She replied angrily and left.

"_I can't believe it! He's still hasn't changed__ He's still the arrogant ego-maniac that left __Konoha__ three years ago.__" _Sakura thought grudgingly.

"_Wow… she's changed. She's actually standing up for herself. __Standing up, to me.__"_ Sasuke thought. He caught up with her and grabbed her hand.

"Wait Sakura I'm sorry. Come with me." Sasuke said.

"Oh, now you can apologize, you could've done that for what you did three years ago!" Sakura said.

"Oh, come on." Sasuke said, and carried her to the forest, he hated being reminded of that night, he now sees he has to do something about it.

Upon reaching the forest, he laid her on a tree, holding her mouth shut so she would keep quiet.

"Right, first things first. You need to understand that night, three years ago. I needed power, I wanted revenge. I wasn't going to let anyone get in my way. It was everything I thought about. I thought it was my purpose. I lost everything. I wanted it back." Sasuke stated.

"Anyway, I told you we were different. I'm not like you, or Naruto. I'm sorry about how I hurt your feelings, but I was what, like twelve or something? I didn't have any interest in you. Besides, I did say thank you." He took his hand off her mouth, waiting for her reply.

"Didn't I tell you? I would do anything… you could've taken me with you." She said.

"Do you seriously think I would have? Back when we were kids, do you think I would've cared if you loved me? You would just slow me down, and you would get killed if I brought you along." He explained.

"You left without an explanation…" she said.

"You just think I did. I told you everything. You were just to desperate to stop me to see it." He replied.

"But… but…" She gets it now. She couldn't think of anything to reply. She was stuck.

"Anyway… I'm apologizing for that now. It's done, I can't change that, if I could I still wouldn't, I need that power. Just because I'm back doesn't mean I won't take my revenge on my brother. One thing is different though-" he said.

"I'm stronger now. And I can help you. WE can." Sakura intruded.

"I'm the only one who can kill Itachi. You think I wasted three years on nothing?"

"Of course not. I was talking about the Akatsuki. We'll leave your brother up to you."

"Oh, is that all?" He said sarcastically. He hardly thinks others would be of any help, but why not?

"Yeah. We've gotten stronger, if you hadn't noticed." And she suddenly kissed his lips, but only just for a short while, once she realized it, she moved back hastily. "Sorry… sorry… I didn't mean to…"

_"Oh my God!__ Sakura! What have you done! The guy just got here and you jump on him like that?! Oh no! What the heck have I done!?!" _ Sakura panicked in her mind.

"You have gotten stronger. Oh, and yes, you did mean it." Sasuke said jokingly. He then kissed her again. He actually has feelings for her. Sakura knows that now.

_"I knew it! I knew it!!! He was just to shy and to busy to admit it! __YEAH!"_Sakura was having a party in her mind. She finally got him! After years and years, she finally got him!

Who would've known it would take three years for him to actually admit it, and admitting it after something so simple? That wasn't even his first kiss, well, if we count the one with Naruto when they bumped into each other back at the academy. Sasuke remains as mysterious as ever...

It's true… a lot has changed…

But some things just don't… and it might be better that way...

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::Well, there's chapter 2! Hope you liked it!

::Well, at least you guys already know the pairings. I think things are going a bit fast though… anyway, that's better than a really slow one, where nothing ever happens in a chapter. This one basically tells you that the two finally 'fess up…

::Sorry about my messy narrative! It's just sometimes I like to talk back to the TV and say what I think. I kinda did that here too. Hehehe.

::Please review!


	3. Chapter 3: Bonds I Did Not Break

::Thanks for the reviews! I'm glad at least someone actually thought this story was worth reading…

::Sorry the update took a while… I've got school again…

:: Well, here's chapter 3… I hope you enjoy!

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**Chapter 3: ****Bonds I Did Not Break**

"Hey lovebirds! I can see you up there you know!" A laughing Naruto exclaimed.

_"What the heck is that dobe doing out here?" _Sasuke thought.

"NNNNNNNAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUTTTTTTTTTTTTTOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" Sakura screamed and leaped off the tree, punching Naruto right in the face.

"S-sorry Sakura-chan." Naruto said while holding on to his face.

"After all this time, I can't believe you're still that annoying." Sasuke said.

"I may still be annoying, but let's see if I've gotten stronger. This time, I'm the one challenging you Sasuke." He said. He's been looking for a challenge, ever since he got back six months ago; everybody was just to busy to acknowledge his offer.

"Sure, let's see if three years of training made you stronger, I did win our last fight after all." Sasuke smirked. He did win that last fight. Though he looked like a weird grey dude with hands sticking out his back.

"Okay then, if you guys have to be like that again. Be careful, both of you." Sakura said.

"Let's go." Sasuke said, and then leaped off to a tree.

"Chidori!" And an electric blast appeared on his hand. He charged at Naruto at full speed, and hit him at the back. "A replacement jutsu. Not bad." Sasuke said, after seeing Naruto turn into a log.

"My turn. Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!" And his clones charged at Sasuke, but he was able to block every move.

"You'll have to do better than that!" Sasuke said.

"Don't worry, I will. Futon: Rasengan!" And a large crater appears beneath him, holding the spiraling orb in one hand, as he charges toward Sasuke.

Sasuke was able to jump out of the way at the last minute, he wasn't able to escape unshaved though. Naruto was able to hit his arm, and with a technique as advanced as a wind release Rasengan, it's sure to cause some pain.

_"Wow, __Naruto__ has been doing some serious training! That was amazing." _Sakura thought.

"Okay, time to get serious. Chidori Nagashi!" And a current of electricity envelops Sasuke's body, and he throws a volley of chakra needles at Naruto, but it turns out to be just a shadow clone.

"Nice trick Sasuke." Naruto said, appearing behind him. "U-ZU-MA-KI NARUTO REN—" Just as Naruto was about to finish his move, Sasuke disappears.

_"Wow, __Sasuke__-__kun, that__ was extremely fast!" _She thought.

"Try behind you!" And Sasuke channels the Chidori current into his new sword, and hits Naruto squarely. Naruto hits the ground –but of course he's not dead.

"Are you okay Naruto?" Sakura asks. As she heals his injuries.

"Yeah." He says, standing up. "Great fight Sasuke."

"Hn." He smirked. "You've improved yourself. But still, you didn't beat me."

"Yeah well, you win some, you lose some. I can always fight you again tomorrow." Naruto replied.

"Would you guys want something to eat?" Sakura asked. After finishing healing the two.

"As long as it's ramen!" Naruto replied.

"Yeah, I guess so." Sasuke said.

And the trio make their way to Ichiraku's.

Naruto orders for them, as usual... and they begin to eat…

"I think you haven't wasted your three years after all Naruto." Sasuke said plainly.

"I see you finally got what you wanted after three years Sasuke." Naruto replied.

"No, I'm not finished yet. He's still alive remember?" Sasuke said.

Sakura overheard the two talking and began to think… _"It's __all my__ fault! Why the heck did I have to go and get myself in __trouble.__ He could've killed him __already,__ he would finally get his revenge. But no, I just had to play dumb-damsel-in-distress. I thought all my training could prepare me for this! Now we're still worrying about the __Akatsuki__, and __Sasuke__ leaving again." _

"You okay Sakura?" Sasuke said, staring at her blank expression.

"Yeah, yeah. I was just thinking." She replied.

"About what?" He asked.

"About, well, the past… you know, this place holds a lot of memories for the three of us…"

"Yeah Sakura-chan… I wonder how much money I've spent here already?" Naruto wonders, he's an Ichiraku's regular, as we all know.

Just then, Kakashi appears. "Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto. The Hokage is sending us on a mission to rescue the Hyuga Heiress. "

Team Seven, all over again.

"Hinata!?! Why? What happened???" Naruto asks, concerned for his girlfriend.

"She's been held captive by who we think might be members of the Akatsuki." Kakashi replied. His pupils are stronger now, they get high rank missions.

"That's just great. We get to finish a mission, and I get another chance to kill my brother at the same time." Sasuke replied.

_"Wow. __Actually enthusiastic for a mission.__ Has __Oruchimaru__ been teaching him things besides __jutsu__? Oh, yeah, this was about killing his brother again, like I forgot." _Sakura thought to herself.

"Get ready, we leave tomorrow." Kakashi said. And disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Hinata? What the heck would your brother want with her?" Naruto worried.

"He's trying to get to you Naruto. He's using my cousin as bait." Neji Hyuga arrived.

"Wow. My brother hasn't changed at all." Sasuke said, as hate flowed through his veins again.

"That means you guys have to be more careful. Especially you Uchiha, and you Naruto." Neji continued.

"He wants the Kyuubi. They're collecting tailed-beasts. They've already got Gaara's." Naruto said.

"We can't let him do that now can we?" Sasuke smirked.

_"I'm __gonna__ kill that bastard. He's going to pay. After seven years of waiting. __He__ .Is .Going .To .Die… and I'll be the one__ to__ kill him." _Sasuke pondered in his mind.

"Bring her back alive will you? She is my cousin after-all." Neji said. They're on better terms now than they did before. They're actually like family now.

"I will, it's a promise. I haven't failed in bringing people back." Naruto says, smiling at Sasuke. Sasuke is back, after all.

"Okay. I have to go now." Neji said, and then he left. He also had a mission with his team tomorrow.

_"I have to protect these two. __Naruto's__ the obvious target, but __Sasuke__ could get carried away by his revenge plans again. Then, we also need to save __Hinata__. Okay Sakura, you trained hard for three years, you will not be a burden. You can do this." _Sakura thought to herself.

"Let's go home, we need to prepare for tomorrow." She said to her teammates.

"Yeah. We need to be ready." Naruto replied.

"Let's go then." Sasuke said.

Upon reaching Naruto's place… "Bye Sakura-chan. Bye Sasuke." Naruto said before entering the building.

Naruto went up and started to pack, he had to save Hinata. He loves her after all. She may be the shy type, but she's caring and hardworking, plus, she's improved a lot in being a ninja. They've been seeing each other for three month's now. That's just half of Naruto's stay since returning from training with Jiraiya.

Meanwhile, with Sasuke and Sakura…

"Just like old times, eh? Another rescue mission." Sakura said.

"Yeah. I haven't been able to go on one of those in a while." Sasuke replied.

"A-are you sure you're okay with this?" Sakura asked.

"Of course I am. It's you I'm worried about." Sasuke said.

"You don't have to worry about me anymore Sasuke-kun. But you can't blame me for worrying. It is the Akatsuki after all." She replied.

"I guess so… I think our three years of training will come in handy." He replied.

"Yeah. It probably will."

Meanwhile, Hinata was put in a cell in one of the Akatsuki's hideouts.

_"I can survive this. __Naruto__-kun will save me. He always does. I can't lose hope now. Keep yourself together __Hinata__. You can do this. Show them what the __Hyuga__ heiress can do! I'll be waiting __Naruto__-kun."_

A cold dungeon was not the most hopeful of places, but Hinata Hyuga kind find hope in the direst of situations, especially when Naruto is in her thoughts.

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::There you have it! Chapter 3… hope you stayed awake!

::PLEASE REVIEW… It really helps!

::Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4: With You To The End

::Thanks for putting me on your story alerts… but I would really appreciate some comments…

:: I'm updating while the weekend lasts… so here's Chapter 4…

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**Chapter 4:**** With You ****To**** The End**

"Sakura, it's late. Would you like to stay for the night?" Sasuke invited her in.

"Are you sure?" She answered. He was actually inviting her to stay, even for just that night. If she was still twelve, she would've jumped up in the air and danced like crazy. But she's older now. Time for being more sophisticated.

"Yeah. We need to get ready for tomorrow." He replied.

"I guess a good night's sleep would help…"

"Exactly. You can sleep in my parent's old room."

"Sasuke-kun, you don't have to…"

"But why not? If you really don't want to, fine."

"Okay, okay. I'll stay." she wanted to stay all along.

"Well, come in then."

And he showed her in, Sasuke lived in the Uchiha compound alone after the dreadful massacre of his clan, the place has been empty for three years, and has only been occupied since Sasuke got out of the hospital. The place looked empty, silent, and sad. The signs of the previous tragedy still lurked in the halls of the place. It wasn't a field of sunflowers, but hey, you know Sasuke. Cold, and silent. Much like this place. On the way to the room, they passed by a wall bearing the Uchiha clan symbol. The fan. Sasuke lighted the torches, and it showed the rooms true beauty. It was empty of furniture, but you could tell it held many memories for him.

"This place, it's beautiful." Sakura said.

"Mother used to tell stories to us here." Sasuke stated. A flashback of his past filled his thoughts, him at eight, his brother thirteen, their mother telling them stories of amazing shinobi… If only he could have prevented the tragedy...

_"I can't imagine the pain he had to go through when he lost everything – everything but his life. And seeing your own parents killed in front of you, by your own bother.__ That is dreadful. No wonder he wants revenge.__" _Sakura thought.

"Well, here's your room." Sasuke said.

"Thank you Sasuke-kun." She said.

"Goodnight then." He said, and he stroked her pink hair, looking at her sparkling green eyes.

"Good night then Sasuke-kun." And she hugged him before he left, closing the door behind her.

The room was peaceful, the windows let the moonlight shine through, and Sakura began to dress in her nightclothes and prepare for bed. The bed was soft and it was comfortable. She got to sleep instantly.

Sasuke then changed clothes in his own room, but went outside for a walk instead of sleeping.

_"I'll be facing you soon again__ you bastard. The next time we meet, you'__ll be the one to die. I never want to see another important person die in front of me again. I won't let you kill more of my friends. You will pay for__ what you have done __I will show you how my hard work and the hate that has consumed my heart made me stronger. I will show no mercy, I will inflict my vengeance upon you. I WILL GET MY REVENGE.__" _He fought a battle in his mind. His hatred of his brother growing by the minute.

The moonlight made his jet-black hair and dark eyes shine, making him look as mysterious as ever. The Uchiha compound's garden has been unattended in years, but it still has a certain beauty to it. The full moon provided for much of the lighting that night. The cherry-blossom was shining that night, and it reminded her of Sakura, the pink was exactly the shade of her hair.

He decided to go inside the house, and the memories of the past haunted him once more… his loving mother, his father that eventually took notice of him, the other clan members, and his brother –they used to be so close back then, Itachi would even make ways for him and his father to become closer.

Why, why would his brother ever kill everyone dear to him, just to test his power? How could he do such a thing for such a shallow and selfish reason? What could be so evil that would let his conscience kill his entire clan? Why did he keep his only brother alive to suffer the loneliness and sorrow of losing everything in such a short amount of time, by his own hands?

Tears were now streaming from the youngest Uchiha's dark eyes, this was something that has never happened in years. Fear and regret became present in his thoughts. Fear that he might not be able to restore his clan, get his revenge, and losing another important person, and the regret that he was not able to save his clan in the first place.

Sakura was awoken, in the dead of the night, by an unfamiliar sound, it was sad, and scared. She took a kunai from her bag, and slowly opened the door out of her room. She didn't expect what she saw. Sasuke, with his red sharingan eyes glowing with the reflection of the torches flames, filled both sorrow and hate, were actually wet with tears.

"Sasuke-kun, are you okay?" She asked.

He didn't answer. She sat next to him and rested her head on his shoulder. They just sat there silent, glaring at the glowing red flames of the torches.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Sasuke spoke.

"Do what?" She asked.

"After all this time, and after all I've done, and who I still am. Do you still truly love me?"

"Yes of course. I never stopped. I always did, even after you left."

"But, you do know the risks right? I won't stop until I get my revenge. I might hurt you again."

"This is the choice I made. I'll be with you to the end."

She then gave him a kiss, and proceeded back to her room to continue her sleep.

_"I meant every word __Sasuke__-kun. I just hope you believe me. If only you knew." _Sakura thought.

Sasuke stood up and went to bed, deciding he would need a good night's rest for his mission tomorrow.

_"__Why would she go so far? She deserves better than me." _Sasuke thought.

At Naruto's place…

Naruto begins to pack his bags for the next day, picks up a few kunais, shurikens, ramen, and some other things he might need for tomorrow's mission. While worried thoughts crossed through his mind…

_" __I'm__ coming. I'll save you, I will not fail this mission, __I__ will bring you back. I promise." _

He sits on his bead and looks out on the night sky, thinking about Hinata, and how she's doing. He blames himself for putting her in danger._"__If__ only I didn't have this monster within me, then they wouldn't need to use you to get to me." _He will do anything to save her. ANYTHING. After a few moments, he went to sleep.

The next morning…

Sasuke and Sakura are up early, they've packed and gotten ready. They go out of the compound and walk to the gates of Konoha. It was a beautiful sunny day… it can't get any better than this…

Or so they think…

* * *

::There it is… sorry it took so long… I kinda had a lapse of inspiration last week…

::Sorry if they didn't get on with the mission yet… they will soon!!!

::Hope you liked it… PLEASE REVIEW!!!


	5. Chapter 5: To The Mist

::Okie! Chapter 5!!! Mission time!

::Here it goes!

* * *

**Chapter 5: ****To ****The**** Mist**

"You ready?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah I am." Sakura replied.

And they soon reached the gigantic gates to the village. Kiba, Ino and Naruto were there already.

"What are you guys doing here?" Sasuke asked. "Wasn't this supposed to be a single team misson?"

"Well, the Hokage thought you guys needed extra support. Everyone else was still on their own missions, so you guys are stuck with us for this one. "

"So, the Hokage doesn't think we can take it eh?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah. Well, you can't blame her. The Akatsuki are all S-rank missing-nin after all. Lots of us got problems when we went on the misson to save the Kazekage. We almost lost him too." He replied.

"Well, just leave my brother up to me then."

"My pleasure." Kiba replied, as if he cared about Sasuke's plans for revenge. They were never really close back then, and he didn't want to get in the way of things.

Moments pass as they wait for the masked Jonin. Kiba and Ino were already napping under the nearby tree, Naruto was sitting on a tree branch, thinking. Sasuke leaned on another tree and was as silent as ever.

"Where the heck is Kakashi-sensei! I can't believe he would be late for something as important as this!" Sakura said, frustrated.

"I see he hasn't changed, he hasn't grown any more punctual in three years." Sasuke said.

Just then, Kakashi arrived…

"Well, well, well. Here I am Sasuke. I got held back with the Hokage. She just informed me of Kiba and Ino joining us for the mission. From the information we gathered, the Akatsuki are most likely holding the Hyuga Heiress in the Mist. Don't worry, you'll get to your brother soon enough. Oh, I also saw your match with Naruto yesterday. You have learned the Chidori well, and you even made your own variations for it. But I wonder , have you abandoned your fire-jutsu skills for good?" Kakashi asked.

"Well, I guess you'll just have to wait and see." Sasuke replied, smirking. Well, he has been using the Chidori mostly, almost in every match. But he hasn't abandoned the Uchiha style, well, not totally.

"Well then, let's get on with this mission." Kakashi went on ahead.

"Kiba, Ino! Wake up! Naruto! It's time to go." Sakura called out.

The three stood up, and followed. They were well on their way to the Mist. The mission was on.

Hours of walking passed silently, they really couldn't think of anything much to say, or talk about, and this wasn't the time for talking. One of their friends was in danger.

Meanwhile, in Hinata's cell…

"Your boyfriend sure is taking a while… are you sure he really cares about you? If he keeps this up, we'll have no use for you, you are obviously not the target of our plan. We don't care about another one of Konoha's pitiful clans." It was Itachi Uchiha, Sasuke's older brother. The person he hated most.

"He does care! He'll be coming! He'll save me, and you will be defeated!" Hinata replied. She truly believes in Naruto.

"Well, you better hope so. Because if he doesn't get here soon, you'll die, and we'll use another one of your pathetic friends to get the Kyuubi." He replied. Hinata was just a pawn in the Akatsuki's plans. Just another way to get another tailed-beast.

"You won't succeed in this. I know it!"

"You'll see soon enough Hyuga." Itachi replied and left.

Itachi made hi way to a chamber in their hideout. Where he met up with Deidara.

"Hey Uchiha, I just heard our target is on his way here. And another thing, your little brother is tagging along." Deidara stated.

"So, it's finally time for a family reunion eh? Well, let's see how much he's improved over four years."

"Yeah, he'll surely be going after you. Why did you go and kill your clan anyways? What's so special about your brother that you kept him alive?"

"That's none of your business Deidara. Well, apart from that, I also kept my brother alive for fun, imagine controlling a person, making him hate you, making him work so hard to get you, and just end up beating him over again. He's hopeless. I don't think he'll ever be able to defeat me. But, I want to see him try. I find it very amusing, how he suffers so much. He's always growing stronger, but never strong enough. Until I get tired of defeating him and watching him suffer, that is when I will end it. That's when he dies."

"Wow, you are a sadist." Diedara commented.

"Well, I have to give him credit. He hasn't given up yet, and he has made huge efforts. He didn't kill himself, or let himself get killed, just to kill me. I can't wait till I get to put more suffering on him again."

"Well then, I'll go now. I'll be watching them for you." Diedara said and began to walk away.

_"That __Uchiha__ isn't evil. __He's CRAZY__. What a shallow and selfish reason to kill. Art should never be used for such a pitiful thing." _He thought to himself.

Back with the Leaf-nin…

"Well, it's getting dark. We'll camp out here for the night. We'll reach the place by tomorrow afternoon." Kakashi said.

Everyone then began to set up camp. Sasuke went on and made a fire, and started cooking dinner.

"Hey Sasuke, I didn't know you could cook!" Kiba teased.

"Well then, how do you think I get my food then? Not like I have anyone to cook for me. Don't you think?" Sasuke replied.

Kiba growled. "Well if you want to be that way then fine."

"Guys, knock it off! Bickering like little kids doesn't help anyone!" Ino intruded.

"She's right you know." Sakura said.

Naruto went to Kiba and Sasuke and whispered in their ears. "Yeah, like they never bickered. They were the two noisiest girls from Konoha back then. They could never stop being at each other's throats." He said jokingly. The three of them laughed.

"WHAT!?!" The two Kunoichis then punched Naruto in the face.

"They haven't changed much have they?" Naruto said while holding back the pain from the blows.

"They have. Their actually work together now." Sasuke said.

"Yeah, and guess who got hit this time!" Kiba said.

Kiba and Sasuke laughed, finally getting along for the first time since Sasuke got back.

"Right. Dinner is ready." Sasuke said, and handed the food to Ino.

Ino served up the food.

"Here you go Akamaru." Kiba said.

Akamaru barked happily and began eating. Ino patted his head. Then passed some food to Naruto, but he didn't take any.

"Let me guess. You brought some ramen didn't you?" Kakashi asked.

"Yeah, I did." Naruto asked.

"Well, you've only had six-months of it. You must've missed it when you were training."

"Yeah! I really did Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto said enthusiastically, and began eating the ramen he packed.

"He's always been like that, hasn't he?" Ino asked Sakura.

"Yeah. He has. I wonder how he can make people suddenly stop fighting, and start working together."

"And the way he changed Gaara's attitude, from a ruthless killer to the Kazekage. It's amazing."

"I know."

As soon as everyone finished eating…

"Listen, we have a very important mission to accomplish, a good night's sleep will do you good. No one, I repeat, no one. Will go out or sleep late tonight. You guys can have fun when we get Hinata back." Kakashi said.

"Yes Kakashi-sensei." Everyone replied.

Kiba and Ino were sharing a tent, so they then went to bed. Everyone else was sleeping in their own tent, except Akamaru, who slept outside. Everyone was set up for a good night's sleep. Just like Kakashi said.

They didn't know something, or someone might be in their midst… preparing to attack them as they fall into their slumber…

* * *

::Well, there's Chapter 5… is my story still worth reading?

::Please review. Even flame if you want to.

::Thanks!


	6. Chapter 6: Blooms In The Rain

::Thanks for the reviews!!!

::Right, on to chapter 6… okay, well this is mostly a flashback… brace yourself!

* * *

**Chapter 6: Blooms In The Rain**

"Goodnight Sasuke-kun." Sakura said.

He kissed her lightly and said "Sweet dreams Sakura." Before going to his own tent for a well earned rest.

Naruto was not his usual noisy self, you could tell he was deeply troubled. Once he got in his tent, you could tell he was deeply troubled. He won't be having a good sleep tonight.

"Ino! What are you waiting for? You heard Kakashi-sensei. We need to get some rest for tomorrow's mission." Kiba called out, as Ino was gazing dreamily at the blazing fire, leaning her back on the now sleeping Akamaru.

"I'll be there soon Kiba-kun." She replied.

"What are you thinking about, you seem to be wondering about something." Kiba asked curiously, sitting next to her, and putting his arm around her.

"Well actually, about the day we first really talked." She replied.

**Three years ago, in the Yamanaka flower shop…**

"Not that again Sakura, you can't be depressed over him forever. He asked for it, it was his choice. It's not your fault." Ino said to a depressed Sakura. It's been a week after the retrieval mission for Sasuke. She isn't getting over this anytime soon.

"But why did he leave?" Sakura said, sobbing.

"He's going off to get power to kill his brother, you know that. He probably thinks you'll just get in the way. Besides, maybe he doesn't want you to get hurt. Maybe, he wants to keep you safe." She replied. But it fell to deaf ears.

Sakura was too shaken, depressed, and broken. If only she listened, because Ino has guessed things right. Well, she was just left there on that bench, left with only a "Thank you." Who could blame her?

"Listen don't worry Sakura. He'll be back, _we-_ all of us, will bring him back." Ino said, trying to comfort her bestfriend.

Sakura emptily stared at the roses on a flower display on the shop window, her green eyes no longer shone with her usual happiness. If eyes were the windows to the soul, her soul would be blank, it would be empty.

The blonde-haired Kunoichi couldn't think of anything more to say. She knows only time can heal this kind of pain. She'll be helping her of course. What are best friends for?

She recalls her affection for the youngest Uchiha. How could she have liked such a shallow, arrogant bastard? Enough even to put her and Sakura's friendship to an end because of their rivalry for him?

One thing's for sure. Ino doesn't like him anymore. Not after what he did to her best friend.

"Ino, I h-have t-to go n-now." Sakura said, tears now rolling down her cheeks.

"Okay, but take care of yourself. Don't worry too much." Ino replied.

The shop had an order of flowers to a customer three blocks away, which isn't really that far, considering she didn't have anything better to do, Ino decided to deliver the flowers herself.

**Meanwhile, in the training grounds…**

"Oi Shino! I'm tired! Aren't we done training yet?" Kiba called out to his teammate.

"Well, it is almost dusk." The Aburame replied, and walked home.

"Bye Shino-kun! Bye Kiba-kun!" The Hyuga heiress said, and began walking back home.

"Okay Akamaru. Let's go." Kiba called to his dog, which then began running quickly towards the town.

_"What's gotten in to you?" _Kiba thought, as he ran in pursuit of his dog.

Once the chase had led them considerably in the village, Kiba heard a loud shriek. Akamaru just bumped in to a blonde-haired girl, flowers now scattered the street.

"Oh, sorry. I lost control of my dog. It won't happen again." He helped the girl up, and noticed the Konoha headband tied on her waist. "Have I met you before? In the last chuunin exams right?" He asked, starting to pick up the flowers.

"Yeah. I'm on Shikamaru's team. You're the Inuzuka right?" She replied, brushing the dirt off her clothes.

"Yes. Oh, I'm really sorry about this. Say sorry Akamaru." He said. His dog then sat in front of the kunoichi and gave her the cutest puppy-dog-eyes imaginable.

"Aww. He's so sweet." She said, petting Akamaru.

_"__Hehe__ No one can resist that trick. Good thing it was the first one I taught you. It's saved our neck dozens of times." _Kiba thought happily. "Can I help you carry these?" He offered.

"No need, I can handle it." She answered.

"But really let me help, it's the least I can do."

"Well, if you insist."

As both of them make their way to the customer, the sky grew darker…

Ino knocked on the door, and delivered the flowers to a sweet old lady.

"Right. Now that that's done, would you like to hang out or something?" Kiba said.

"Why not? I'll be bored and it's not like I have anything better to do." She replied.

"Okay. So, where do you want to go?"

"Errm… you decide."

"Okay."

They made their way to a nearby sushi bar, about a block away.

"We're here. I hope you don't mind sushi, it's almost dinner anyway." Kiba said.

"No problem." She replied. She was a little hungry anyways, mostly because he always ate very little.

Once they found a suitable table, Kiba ordered for both of them.

"So, what's your team like?" Ino asked.

"Well, Shino is very silent and secretive he also sulks a lot, I guess it's also in his nature, though he and the bugs can creep you out at times too. While Hinata, the Hyuga heiress, is very shy, and she always seems to blush when Naruto is around. Two weeks ago, while Naruto's team were training near ours, and he called out her name, and asked her is she wanted to get some ramen later. Hinata couldn't even answer. She fainted. So… What about yours?" He replied.

"My team? Shikamaru's the lazy-ass genius that thinks anything is troublesome, and Chouji never stops eating, he even brings stashes of food on missions. But we can manage. They aren't so bad once you get to know them." She said.

Their food arrived, and Kiba noticed that Ino was hardly eating.

"What's the matter? Don't you like it?" Kiba asked.

"No, it's not that." She replied.

"Then what is it? Are you on a diet or something?"

"Well…"

"You're thin enough as it is."

"You don't know anything. Guys wont notice me if I'm fat."

"You girls think too much about how you look. Besides, changing yourself, and fighting with your bestfriend just for a guy is stupid."

"So I'm stupid now!?!" She screamed.

"No, sorry. It's just that you don't have to force yourself to get thin for a guy to notice you."

"But it's true."

"No it's not. What do you think I'm doing?"

"Oh…" She was unprepared. His lips caught hers in a light, short kiss. _"Well, this is interesting… a guy never noticed me like that before today. Maybe I was just looking at the wrong guy. Besides, __Akamaru__ is pretty cute, and he's __kinda__ sweet too."_ She thought. "Well, thanks for the sushi, it was great. I gotta go home."

"Okay. But let me walk you there." Kiba said.

"Okay. Thanks." Ino replied.

**Back to Sakura…**

Sakura made her way home, tears still streaming down her face, sadness could be sensed in her spirit… as if the skies were feeling her pain, it rained. Now she was cold, she was wet, she was broken. And only one person could ever heal her wounds… the same person that caused it.

**On the streets of ****Konoha****…**

"Oh no. It's raining again." Ino said.

"Here, take this." Kiba said, taking of his fuzzy jacket and handing it to her.

"But, what about you? Won't you and Akamaru get wet?" She asked.

"Don't worry about us. We can handle it."

"Thanks." She put it on, it was very comfortable, and it didn't even smell like dog, even if Kiba did have a habit of putting Akamaru in his jacket.

Soon enough, they reached Ino's house…

"Thanks again… Kiba-kun." Giving him back his jacket and hugging him tightly. "…for everything."

"You're welcome. See you tomorrow!" Kiba said.

"Yeah, sure!" She said, going into the house.

And Kiba started to make his own way home…

"Well, Akamaru. You turned out to be a better dog than I ever thought. Great job!" Kiba said to his dog.

Akamaru barked happily.

**Back in the present…**

"Yeah that was a great day." Kiba said, yawning, he was sleepy already.

Ino was already sleeping, Akamaru's soft fur was like a pillow. Kiba just gazed at her and stroked her beautiful long blonde hair and kissed her on the cheeks as he too, fell asleep under the stars.

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::What do you think?... PLEASE REVIEW!

::This chapter is sorta like a filler… I wanted to add more Kiba-Ino to the story, and add a short part of how Sakura felt after Sasuke left. That part is pretty important in this story…

::Thanks for reading!


	7. Chapter 7: An Explosion And A Photograph

:: Rightie! On to chapter 7…

::Thanks again for the reviews…

* * *

**Chapter 7: ****An Explosion ****And**** A Photograph**

Sakura changed to her night clothes, turned on the lamp and fixed her tent to get ready for bed. She checked her bag. A photo dropped out. _"Oh, I could never forget this photo. It's my favorite one in the whole world." _She thought as she stared at their young faces. This photo in particular has meant a lot for her team. She always brought it along to every mission. Especially after Sasuke left… She brushed her cherry-blossom-pink hair and went to sleep.

In the next tent…Naruto was trying his best to get to sleep… and failing. He can't sleep at a time like this… not now… not when Hinata's been kidnapped… not when she might get hurt any minute… no… not now… He rubbed his eyes as he turned yet again to get to sleep… until his hands felt something… it was his headband. _"This is a mission I will not fail. I will bring you back. __Whatever it takes."_

_"__Well, this mission could be more interesting than I thought…__" _The masked jonin said to himself, opening another copy of Icha-icha, for his errm… light reading. _"Hmm… I do need to keep an eye on __Sasuke__ though. The __Hokage__ told me to. He did betray __Konoha__, but then again, he did kill __Oruchimaru__… And he's back now. I doubt he'll need any protection after I've seen his fight against __Naruto__."_ He tought, then he went to bed after reading the next chapter.

Sasuke changed clothes and was just about ready to get to bed until he sensed something… that weird feeling of being followed has been present ever since they started their mission… _"Now I'm sure… somebody's here." _He leaped off to a nearby tree and was there in the blink of an eye, he activated his Sharingan and looked at their camp in full detail… "S_omething isn't supposed to be here…__" _There it was… this small crawling spiderlike white thing… it was on its way to his tent… he then threw a kunai at it, and is exploded with a small 'poof'… _"What the heck is that thing?" _ he wondered. _"I better tell everyone." _And Sasuke woke everyone up. Starting with Kiba and Ino.

"Hey Kiba. There's something here." He said.

"No… it's _someone._ I can smell him, he's not too far. Come on Ino." He said as he, Akamaru and Ino leap off to another tree, preparing for an attack.

Kakashi was awaken by the small explosion and gets out of his tent, then wakes up Naruto as Sasuke was waking up Sakura.

"Naruto, the Akatsuki who once abducted Gaara is here." Kakashi told Naruto.

He rubbed his eyes sleepily, he just got to sleep. "What? He's here?"

"Yes, he is. Let's go."

Sasuke and Sakura have just gotten out of the tent and jumped into the same tree everyone else was in.

"Kakashi-sensei, what was that thing?" Sasuke asked.

"It's a Kibaku Nendo –chakra infused clay that explodes. The Akatsuki member Deidara uses them, he used them when he abducted the Kazekage." Kakashi explains.

"So, one of the Akatsuki already…" Sasuke smirked. He looked up at the sky and saw a flying birdlike silhouette in the moonlight. "…I suppose that's him." He said, pointing at it while glaring with his Sharingan.

"You're right. Be careful, he's very dangerous." The jonin said.

Up in the sky, on his clay bird, Deidara examines their camp with his special eye. "Oh, they've seen me. No problem, my art can handle this." He said. As the mouths from the palms of his hands begin chewing up clay and formed grasshopper-like figures.

"I'll handle this. I'll meet you guys in the forest in a few hours. GO NOW!" Sasuke yelled to everyone.

"But Sasuke-kun?" Sakura said.

"Don't worry about me. Remember your mission, the Hyuga Heiress is waiting. Do you understand? I can take him. You guys have more important things to worry about." He replied.

"Yes Sasuke-kun." Sakura replied.

"Lets get going." Kakashi said. He knew Sasuke could handle it. He needed to help the others escape.

Kakashi, Kiba, Akamaru, Ino, Naruto, and Sakura leaped out and made their way out of the place. Anywhere within ten kilometers would be dangerous. Especially to Naruto, the host of the Nine-tailed demon-fox –what the Akatsuki was after.

"Right then, let's get on with this." Sasuke said. "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" He used the simplest fire technique he knew. They were sufficient enough to get rid of the little grasshopper-like figures. He then leaped high into the air, from tree to tree until he reached the giant bird.

"Chidori Nagashi!" And lightning chakra envelops Sasuke, he charges the chakra into his chokuto, which he then tries to his Deidara with. He dodges, and throws more exploding clay to Sasuke, who gets rid of them before they explode.

_"Uh-oh.__ I got myself in trouble now. Well, I guess this is it. What I get for getting myself caught." _He thought, then got rid of his Akatsuki cloak, revealing another mouth, but on his chest. He then fed it all the clay he had left.

"What are you trying to do?" Sasuke asked. As he tried to hit him yet again.

"You'll see…" He replied, dodging another attack.

_"He's __gonna__ make himself into a bomb. I better get __outta__ here." _ Sasuke thought, leaping out of the bird.

"You'll never be able to escape! MY ART… IS A BLAST!" He shouted sadistically. As he then created a huge explosion.

_"Shit, this guy's gone crazy." _Sasuke thought picking up speed.

In the forest, the leaf-nins saw the explosion as well, they were already a safe distance away.

"SASUKE-KUN!!!" Sakura screamed, and leaped off in search of Sasuke.

"Wait! Sakura!" Ino said, following her.

They all went looking for Sasuke. Until finally…

"Here he is!!!" Kiba called out, he and Akamaru got his scent quickly. Sasuke was out cold, he had cuts and other wounds.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura quickly appeared. She hastily began her hand seals and healing jutsu.

"Sasuke-kun! Wake up Sasuke-kun!" Sakura screamed hysterically.

Nothing. Sasuke was still motionless. She performed more healing jutsus, using up half her chakra.

"S-sakura." Sasuke opened his eyes and said weakly.

"Sasuke-kun! You'll be okay!" Sakura said enthusiastically.

"D-don't worry, I'm fine. It'll take more than explosions to kill me." Sasuke said. Smiling.

Sakura gave him a tight hug. It was comforting, but it hurt. "S-sakura y-you're…" Sasuke said painfully.

"Oh, sorry Sasuke-kun." She said as she started putting the bandages on him.

"Wow Sasuke. That was very brave of you." Ino said.

"Well, I couldn't just let you guys get killed." Sasuke replied.

"I didn't know you actually cared that much for us Sasuke." Naruto said.

"Yeah Sasuke. Thanks again." Kiba added.

"Don't mention it." He answered.

"There you go Sasuke-kun. You'll be fine." Sakura said as she finished his bandages.

"Thank you. Sakura." Sasuke replied.

"Right, lets get going then." Said the masked jonin.

Everyone got down from the trees and began walking to the village of the Mist. Their tents were all destroyed, thanks to that blast.

"Sakura. What's that in your pocket?" Sasuke said after seeing a piece of paper or something peeking out from Sakura's pocket.

"N-noting." She replied with a smile.

Sasuke grabbed whatever the thing was, and opened its folds. It was their old picture. Back when they were kids.

"You still carry this thing?"

"Why not? It's a very special photo. Don't you still have yours?"

"I don't really remember. I think I left it in my room the night I left."

"Oh."

"Hey wait. Didn't our tents get blown up? How'd you manage to get this thing if we all left our bags?"

"I took it right before we got out of my tent."

"Of all the things you could have saved. You choose this thing?"

"Like I said. It's a very special photo."

"But I could have just given you mine, or we could get copies."

"It wouldn't be the same. I've brought this photo everywhere. I had it with me all the time. It was one of the things that helped cheer me up when you left. I always hoped you would come back."

"I am back." He said.

"I know." She said smiling, and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

In the Akatsuki's hideout…

_"So, my brother has grown more than I expected."_ Itachi thought after the news of Deidara's death reached him. _"Perfect. He'll think he's stronger than me now. I can't wait to defeat him again."_

Hinata overheared a conversation between the Akatsuki members a while ago. She knows they're coming for her… coming to save her.All she has to do is stay alive and hope they'll be okay.

_"I'll be here __Naruto__-kun."_

::Sorry for the long time before the upload. Schoolwork keeps me too busy. PLEASE REVIEW.


	8. Chapter 8: The Leaves In The Breeze

::I can't believe I'm already on Chapter 8…

::Oh, thanks for all the reviews, author and story alerts! I really appreciate it!

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**Chapter 8: ****The Leaves****In**** The Breeze**

It was daybreak. The sun shone brightly through the tall trees in the forest. Up ahead was a small village, where the leaf-nin decided to stay in for a short while, they didn't exactly get the good night's rest they wanted, coupled with the injuries they sustained from last night's battle. Looks like their rescue mission will be held up again. They'll never be able to make it to the Mist by the afternoon.

"How are we going to get there on time now?" a worried Naruto asked.

"Sorry Naruto, but I doubt we'll be easily successful at this rate. We've all got minor injuries, and Sasuke got more than that. We'll need to rest up and recover today." Kakashi replied.

"But what about Hinata!?!"

"She'll be okay. Don't worry too much. They won't kill her. They probably know we're on our way there already, remember, it's not her they want. It's you."

"So we're just gonna stay in that village the whole day! Resting up while Hinata suffers!" Naruto said, enraged.

"Listen Naruto." Sasuke intruded. "There's nothing more we can do. They've most likely prepared for an attack already. They know that Deidara is dead, they'll be ready with a welcoming party once we get there. We'll certainly have a hard time dealing with that considering our conditions." The Uchiha was the teams greatest casualty, he was the most greatly injured, and he doesn't enjoy it. Uchiha's aren't the type to be the burden.

"…" Naruto couldn't say more. They were right. There's nothing more they could do. They'll have to stay in that village for the day.

They neared the little village, there were small houses, and no people outside. You could tell they were nearing the mist, because there was a thin layer of fog and a slight chill in the air already. The ninja stop by a small tea shop somewhere in the middle of the town. They get a table, then order some tea and some food.

"Don't worry too much Naruto. Hinata has grown stronger in two-and-a-half years. I've seen her improve." Kiba, who was Hinata's teammate spoke.

"Okay, but really, I can't help but worry." Naruto said.

"We can take them. We'll bring her back." Kiba replied.

"We can do it!" Naruto said, feeling better, taking a bowl of ramen.

"I'll just go out for a walk, I'll be back soon." Sasuke said as he began to exit the tea house. He wanted to be alone for a while, he had to think. He'll be facing his brother again soon, and he's not in the best condition. Sure, he can move, but still, those cuts and bruises can take their toll in a battle.

"I'll come with you Sasuke-kun." Sakura said, Sasuke had already left the restaurant.

The Uchiha walked silently through the towns empty streets, gazing uninterestedly at the ground.

"Wait a minute Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said as she caught up to Sasuke.

Sasuke said nothing, he just continued walking.

"Sasuke-kun? Are you okay? Don't worry about it, your injuries are sure to heal up fine."

"It's not the wounds I'm worried about." He said emotionlessly as he continued up the road.

"What is it then?" She asked worriedly.

They reached a bridge crossing a small stream, the leaves on the trees on the other side were rustling, being blown by the slight breeze.

"It's my brother…" he paused, leaning on the bridge's railings.

"…and if I could protect everyone, prevent them from getting hurt –from dying…" he continued, gazing at their reflections in the water below.

"…especially, if I can… protect you." He gazed into Sakura's emerald-green eyes.

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura was surprised.

Sasuke was finally opening up to him. THE Uchiha Sasuke, the same Uchiha that never talked about himself or his problems, the same one who left Konoha three years ago. He's only been back for a month, it's like he's changed ever so much.

"I'll be fine, I can take care of myself. We can do it together. I'll be here for you Sasuke-kun."

"I won't let anyone hurt you Sakura. I'll do anything to protect you. I can't bear to lose another important person. Not you." Sasuke said. You could see the sincerity in his deep dark eyes. He embraced her tightly.

The breeze grew stronger, leaves were being blown into it. The crystal clear waters of the stream reflected the two lovers' silhouettes.

_"Didn't the breeze pick up with the leaves just like this back when he first got angry at me, when I commented on __Naruto__ not having parents? And__, didn't__ it also happen on the night he left __Konoha__?" _The thought just slipped through Sakura's mind. She was caught in the moment.

She was caught in his arms, then she felt something at Sasuke's back, it was wet. She looked at her hands, drops of red liquid were on the tips of her fingers, it was blood.

"Sasuke-kun, you're bleeding!" Sakura cried out. She immediately told Sasuke to sit down as she performed the healing jutsu.

"Thank you again Sakura…" He said as he received the healing. His white shirt stained with his own blood.

" I hate being a burden." He said with a sigh. This was true. Uchihas are the proud type, they weren't known to be burdens in battle.

"You're not a burden, without you, we would all be dead by now." Sakura said, finishing up his bandages.

"We better get back there. They'll be wondering where we went." She continued. They needed to get back so Sasuke would get some proper rest. She helped him get up.

"Thanks." Sasuke said, taking her hand to stand up.

They began to walk back through the road, to the tea shop.

Back in the tea shop…

Kakashi was resting at the next table, sipping tea while reading another chapter from Icha-icha.

"Relax Naruto. She'll be fine, she's stronger than you think." Ino said, trying to cheer him up.

"How can I relax when I know Hinata's been trapped in a cell in an Akatsuki hideout?"

"Just try to get some rest. You'll need it." She said. She then walked out of the tea house to a nearby tree outside, where Kiba and Akamaru were already sleeping, she leaned on Akamaru and began to fall asleep herself.

"Listen to Ino, Naruto. You'll be better of fighting with full energy." Kakashi said.

"Yes sensei." Naruto said, resting his head on his hands trying to get some sleep.

Sasuke and Sakura finally reached the shop. They took seats next to Kakashi's table.

"What happened to you Sasuke?" He asked, half his head buried behind the book.

"One of my cuts just opened up. It's nothing, I'll be fine." He said.

"Now you really need to get some rest. Sakura, I think there's a room back there, he'll heal up more if he lies down properly."

"Yes Kakashi-sensei." The kunoichi replied, motioning Sasuke to follow her.

Sasuke stood up, and followed Sakura to the room. It was small, with room enough for one person to sleep in. Sakura helped him lie down, and did some more healing jutsus.

"Rest up Sasuke-kun. You'll be fine in no time." She said as she began to stand up.

"Thanks again Sakura, I'll be fine. Take care." He said, grasping her hands before she stood.

"Sleep well Sasuke-kun." She uttered silently before closing the door behind her.

"How's Sasuke doing?" Kakashi asked, as Sakura entered the room.

"He'll be fine. He was bleeding, but he can handle it. It's nothing serious, but he does need to get some rest…" Sakura said with a sigh.

"Good we'll be able to continue the mission by tomorrow, Naruto has no need to worry. But, Sakura, is there something else you want to tell me? Is something bothering you?" the Jonin asked, he sensed something wrong.

"Its just… that…" she said hesitantly.

"Yes?" Kakashi said encouragingly.

"It's Sasuke. He's way too troubled right now, I mean, he just got back to Konoha, the Akatsuki kidnapped Hinata, he got injured badly in a mission, and he'll be facing his brother soon. He's worrying about us getting hurt, about someone dying in front of him again, and if he'll be able to get his revenge." She said staring at the jonin with a look of confusion and worry.

"I see. He's afraid of experiencing the death of those close to him, and not being able to prevent it, coupled with the thought of not attaining his hard-worked revenge…" The jonin said with a tone of understanding.

"But, it's strange that he's actually telling others about his problems, and that he actually admits worrying if he'll ever kill Itachi." He said truthfully.

"It is isn't it Kakashi-sensei? He's changed so much. I wonder if it's for the better…" the kunoichi replied.

"We'll have to wait and see. Right now, you need to get some rest, we've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

"Yes Kakashi-sensei." She replied and took the seat at the table next to Naruto's, and rested her head on her arms as she began to fall in the clutches of sleep.

::Thanks for reading… sorry for the long update!

::Please review, and feel free to suggest anything, I'm getting into a writer's block!


	9. Chapter 9: Trapped

::Finally, Chapter 9…

::I seriously hope you guys like it!!!

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**Chapter 9: ****Trapped**

**Very early the next day…**

"Wake up guys! Let's go!" An enthusiastic Naruto said.

"Wait a second Naruto, the sun's not even up yet." Kiba said, yawning.

"Hinata can't wait any longer!!! The others are all ready!" He replied.

"Fine then." Kiba said, standing up and waking Akamaru.

"LET'S GO!" Naruto said as he began walking towards The Mist.

"Well he's in a good mood isn't he?" Ino said to Kiba.

"Yeah, too good if you ask me. I'm still sleepy." He replied, yawning.

"Don't act like Shikamaru now, I never liked a lazyass." She said.

"Sorry. So let's go then." And all of them began to walk.

The sun rose up in the sky, but now the ninjas from Konoha were too far into the Mist to see it's beautiful golden glow. They were nearing the Akatsuki hideout, that they knew for sure.

"Guys, how long do you think before we reach the damned place?" Naruto said.

"Shut up Naruto. We're near, its just past that river over there." Sasuke said.

"Okay, okay." He said.

Suddenly, one of the Akatsuki stopped them before they reached the river.

"Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, find the hideout and save Hinata. We'll take care of this." Kakashi said.

"Yes, sensei." The three said in chorus and then leaped for the trees, looking for the hideout.

"Now, you two get ready." Kakashi said to Kiba and Ino.

"We are." They said.

"You're not going to save your princess that way. Me and my Samehada will make sure of that. You'll lose your limbs before you get through me." He said, as he pulled out a particularly large scale-covered sword.

"Go ahead and try blue skin!" Kiba said.

"Be careful. He was one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist." Kakashi said to the two.

"Don't worry Kakashi-sensei." Ino said.

"Mizu Bunshin No Jutsu" The blue-skinned Akatsuki said, creating a number of clones of himself. "This is going to be easy."

"Suiro no Jutsu." Said one of the clones, imprisoning Ino in an impenetrable ball of water.

"Don't be so sure.Jinjū Konbi Henge: Sōtōrō !" Kiba said, performing the double-headed wolf transformation with Akamaru. He then attacks the clones surrounding Ino, making them disappear, freeing her from the watery prison.

"Thank You Kiba-kun." Ino said.

"It's not over just yet." He said. Attaking the blue-skinned Akatsuki once more, and missed. Then he managed to dodge an attack that would have ripped his limb off.

"Kiba-kun! Be Careful!" Ino said.

"Don't worry, I can take this." Kiba replied before taking a successful shot, hitting the Akatsuki in the chest.

_"__Kiba__ is showing real promise. He's improved more than I thought." _ Kakashi thought, while preparing to attack, since Kiba and Ino were part of the distraction.

"CHIDORI!" Kakashi hit the Akatsuki, and knocked him out.

"He wasn't so tough after all, Kakashi-sensei." Kiba said, petting Akamaru for a job well done.

"Let's go get the others and rescue Hinata, they might be needing our help." Ino said.

"So, were just gonna leave this guy here?" Kiba asked.

"Yes. We need to accomplish the mission. It wasn't to kill him. Besides, the others could be in big trouble. Remember, Sasuke's brother killed his whole clan by himself. Besides, this one will not be causing any more trouble in a long time. " The masked jonin said.

"Yes Kakashi-sensei." Kiba replied.

They began to make their way through the hideout, looking for Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura. They followed the trail of traps that have already been disabled, hoping it would lead them to the three, or even better, to four.

**Meanwhil****e****… **

The three have been searching for a probable place where the Akatsuki might have held Hinata. They went through more and more torch-lit hallways of stone, with no success. There were traps everywhere, but they were able to manage through them. They think this might not be the Akatsuki's main hideout. They found no other Akatsuki there.

_"My brother is the only other person left in here. Soon, there won't be." _Sasuke thought, as his thirst for revenge grew by the second. He's close to fulfilling his purpose, his life as an avenger is about to be over.

"The dungeons are probably this way." Sasuke said, motioning the two to follow him.

They entered the wet stone stairway into deep darkness. You could hear the eerie drops of water falling from the ceiling.

"I can't imagine how Hinata must be feeling! This place is just…just… not right." Sakura said.

"That's why we're here to rescue her." Naruto said.

The dark hallway had a few cells in it, some were covered in spider webs, others had skeletons in them. The last one in the hall had a beautiful silhouette of a girl. Naruto quickly made his way into the cell by breaking the door, and a slumbering purple-haired heiress awoke.

"N-NARUTO-KUN! I knew you wouldn't leave me here!" Hinata said smiling, hugging the blonde shinobi.

"Of course I wouldn't!" Naruto said enthusiastically.

"Thank you so much Naruto-kun. Oh, and to you too Sakura-chan, Sasuke-san." she replied.

The four made their way through the dungeons, and as Naruto and Hinata got out of the passage, the door suddenly shut behind them, leaving Sasuke and Sakura inside.

"N-Naruto-kun! I can't get it open! The door is stuck!" Hinata said frantically as she tried everything to pry the door open.

"Let me give it a try." Naruto said. He also did all he could, but the door wouldn't budge.

"What now Naruto-kun? We wait for the others?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah, I guess that's all we can do right now." Naruto answered.

**Back to ****Kakashi's**** group…**

"They're this way. I can smell it." Kiba said, motioning to the others to follow.

"Okay Kiba-kun." Ino said, following him.

They went through more and more torch-lit halls, through disabled traps, and other things you could expect an Akatsuki hideout to have.

_"Where is the other __Uchiha__? Shouldn't he be showing__ himself by now?" _Kakashi asked himself.

"Damn!!! They're still a pretty long way from here!" Kiba said, starting to go faster.

"I'm starting to get worried. Sasuke's brother could be here anywhere! You think they've rescued Hinata yet? I wonder how they're doing." Ino said worriedly.

"Don't be so pessimistic Ino! We've known those guys for so long, I think they can handle themselves, but we still need to get there now. Sasuke's brother is no way near a pushover." Kiba said.

"Okay! But you can't blame me for worrying!"

"I know. But just don't freak out like that. This is a serious situation!"

"Hey, you two. This is no time for arguments, let's just calm down and get there okay. If you keep like that, we'll get discovered, now we don't want that happening now do we?" Kakashi said sarcastically.

"Y-yes Kakashi-sensei." Ino said.

"Right, they should be just through this hallway. Come on!" Kiba said.

They hurriedly went through the last torch-lit hallway, and saw two shadowy figures, you couldn't mistake for anyone other than Naruto and Hinata.

"We found them!" Ino said happily. "Hinata! Oh my gosh! Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine." Hinata replied, smiling.

"Well, you two seem okay, but where are Sasuke and Sakura?" Ino asked.

"When we got into that door that led to the dungeons, we got Hinata out, and then the door suddenly closed behind us! Sasuke and Sakura-chan are still inside! We can't get the door open!" Naruto said hastily.

"Right, let me try something." Kakashi performed a few hand seals, but was still unable to open the door. "This can only be opened in a special way, and only from the inside. There's nothing we can do. We have to hope that Sasuke and Sakura can figure it out."

"So we just wait here, AGAIN?" Naruto said.

"Hey, just listen to Kakashi-sensei. There's nothing we can do. I'd like to open that door as much as you guys, but it won't make a difference." Kiba said. "It's all in their hands now."

"Who's the pessimistic one now? Anyway, I believe they'll make it! Sakura and Sasuke have been through so much. They'll be out of there in no time." Ino said.

"I hope so." Naruto said worriedly.

"Don't worry so much Naurto-kun. Everything will be okay." Hinata said to Naruto with a smile.

"Yeah! They will get out of there! They'll be fine!" Naruto said, cheering up.

* * *

::Well, that's Chapter 9… I hope you enjoyed it.

::Thanks for all the reviews and alerts! I really appreciate it! Please continue!

::I'm having a hard time thinking of something to write, and I'm pretty busy with school, so sorry for the long time to update!


	10. Chapter 10: Separated

::Chapter 10…

::I hope you guys review! I really wanna know what you think!

::Oh yeah, and beware of spoilers!!! There are a few in here somewhere…

* * *

**Chap****ter 10: Separated**

"Shit. How are we getting out now?" Sakura said in frustration.

"We'll find a way. Just be careful. My bastard of a brother could be here anywhere." He replied.

"Okay Sasuke-kun."

"This door can only be opened from here. Only, I can't figure out how."

"Why don't we look for a lever or something in this dungeon that might activate it?"

"Yeah. That could work."

The two walk around the tunnels, looking for something that might help them open the door.

"What about this?" Sakura pointed at a stick with a handle sticking out of the wall.

"Yeah. That could be it. But let me pull it. It could be a trap, so stay back."

"Hai."

Sasuke slowly pulled down the lever, and heard a slow creaking noise. A steel barrier suddenly fell from the ceiling, separating the two.

"SASUKE-KUN! Are you okay!?!" Sakura screamed, banging on the barrier.

_**On the other side of the barrier…**_

"Sakura! Sakura! Are you okay? Did you escape? " Sasuke asked.

The room went dark. Sasuke was confused. _"Is this real?" _He thought to himself.

"Look at yourself. You're WEAK. You could never kill me." Itachi suddenly appeared.

"Shut up!"

The room went dark… only what Sasuke saw next, he was not prepared for.

He saw himself as a child… getting home from the academy. Only, the Uchiha compound was quiet. No-one was to be seen. The place was cold. It was empty. It was dark. He couldn't control his movements. He could only watch himself go through the compound, and find everyone dead.

"Not this…anything but this." His sixteen year old self thought. He knew what was to come.

The eight-year-old Sasuke ran home. To the house he's lived in for years. Sasuke witnessed the Uchiha massacre right in front of him once again, his mother and father, being killed right in front of him by his own brother. He ran for it. He had no control. All he could do was live out that horrible nightmare once more. He ran, and ran. But his brother caught up with him. He told him to grow in hatred of him, to get stronger, in the hope of avenging the clan.

The sixteen-year-old Sasuke could take no more. This was the worst night of his life. "Stop it you bastard! Fight me face-to face!" he shouted.

The images slowly disappeared, the eight-year-old Sasuke, the Uchiha compound, the corpses of his family. All he could see now were the dark halls of the tunnel once more.

"I don't need to. You know you'll never win." Itachi appeared.

"Shut up."

Sasuke's blood boiled inside of him. His hatred flowed in his veins. His eyes went blood red. He drew his sword, and focused an immense amount of chakra into it. You could see the chakra enveloping him, blue, cold and electric.

"Now, you die." He said. Sasuke charged with all his might. He was lighting fast. But his brother was still able to move out of the way of his attacks.

"Nice try brother. But, still not enough, I won't be killing you tonight, so just get out of my way." Itachi said coldly.

"Why won't you kill me then? Why didn't you kill me when you killed mother and father?" Sasuke said, still trying to hit Itachi with his sword.

"Do you really wanna know?"

"Yes." Sasuke replied, finally able to scratch Itachi's arm.

"Well, I needed to keep you alive. You have something I need." Itachi replied, then hit Sasuke and caused him to fall to the floor.

Sasuke was catching his breath, but could not move. "Like what? It's not like I'm the only one with a Sharingan." He said, cursing under his breath.

"Exactly. Haven't you figured it out yet? Haven't you been reading the scrolls back home?"

"The scrolls?" Sasuke said, trying to remember.

_"__Too much use of the__ Mangekyo__ Sharingan__ causes__ blindness…"_He remembered reading it off a scroll somewhere in the compound during his first few days back home. "So you're going blind… and you want my eyes."

"Very well observed little bother. But tonight isn't your lucky night. I have no need for your eyes just yet." He said. "But, I will leave you something to remember me by."Itachi said, then he disappeared.

"YOU BASTARD! GET BACK HERE!" Sasuke shouted. And banged on the barrier once more.

"Sakura! Sakura! Are you there?" He spoke, putting his ears to the barrier, waiting for an answer.

_**On the other side…**_

"Sasuke-kun???" She said back. "I'm fine. Don't worry."

"You sure?" said Sasuke from the other side of the barrier.

"Yes Sasuke-kun. Now how are we getting out of this place?"

"I'm not sure. But I'll find a way. Stay there and try to find out how to open the door."

"Okay Sasuke-kun. But be careful!"

Sakura heard no reply. She was extremely worried. Not much for herself, but mostly for Sasuke. She heard all the screaming and fighting from the other side of the barrier. She knew Sasuke had already encountered his brother, but failed to kill him again. She knew the weakness of the Mangekyo, and why Sasuke was kept alive at the night of the massacre.

___"Now what do we do? How the heck am I __gonna__ open this stupid door?__ Hmm… think Sakura. THINK!!!" _Sakura thought to herself.

___"Maybe one big burst of chakra will do it?" _So, focusing a huge amount of chakra to her hand, she punched the door with all her might. It was extremely strong, and dust blew everywhere. But once the smoke cleared… there was the door, unmoved. Not even a scratch. Sakura cursed under her breath.

___"Well, that didn't work… now what!?!" _Tired and out of breath, Sakura tried her best to think about a way to open the huge wooden door right in front of her.

___"If brute strength isn't the key… maybe the door itself has something to do with it?"_Sakura examined the door, looking for a mechanism or a crack or something. ANYTHING. She noticed the door was plain. Just big, wooden and cannot be opened._"I give up. This door just won't budge!"_ She thought, frustrated

___**Outside the door…**_

"Sakura-chan just punched the door…" Naruto said, after hearing the loud bang.

"Yeah. But that's some door. It still won't open." Kiba said.

"Kakashi-sensei, can't you use a jutsu or something to get in there? They might be in trouble." Naruto said worriedly.

"I already tried that. But it doesn't work. There's more to that door than it seems. It might not even be a door." The masked jonin said.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked , confused.

"It might be a genjutsu Naruto-kun." Hinata said.

"That's some genjutsu!"

"Hey, don't forget Sasuke's brother, we don't know what he's capable of." Kiba said.

"Exactly." Kakashi replied.

___**Somewhere in the hideout…**_

___"Very nice __Kakashi__… you're smarter than I thought. Now, I wonder if you'll find out how to open it." _Itachi thought as he heard their conversation.

___"My brother still hasn't grown strong enough… his eyes aren't ready yet. If they were I would've killed him by now. Oh wait…where's he going?" _Looking at Sasuke running around the tunnels, probably looking for a way to open the door and the barrier._"Hmm… he's angry again. __As always.__ Now __let's let him__ find__ the way to open that barrier. He's getting boring. "_ He chuckled evily in his mind.

___"Oh look, my little brother's found a girlfriend... Now, this will be fun." _ He said, looking at the pink-haired girl sitting in the middle of the barrier and the closed door.

___**In the tunnels…**_

"Finally." Sasuke said, looking at a strange engraving at the wall. There was a hole in it. He charged his chakra into his Chokuto again, and put it in the wall. The wall moved, and revealed a seal.

"This should be enough to open that goddamn barrier. I just hope Sakura's okay." Sasuke said, clutching the seal in his hand, and attaching it to a kunai. Sasuke ran as fast as he could back to the barrier.

"Don't worry brother. I'll kill you soon enough. But if you do anything to Sakura. You're not getting out of these tunnels alive." Sasuke thought to himself.

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::So that was chapter ten… thanks for reading…

::PLEASE REVIEW!!!


	11. Chapter 11: The Cherry Blossom Fades

:Sorry it took me forever to update… the hectic schedule, writer's block and my addiction to Warcraft DotA (which I might be making a fanfic on) prevented me from updating fast… but now that school's out, I guess updates will be faster for the next couple of months…

:So… here's chapter 11… I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

**Chapter 11: The Cherry Blossom Fades**

Sasuke was running through the tunnels as fast as he could, the kunai with the seal still clutched tightly in his grip. With his brother lurking somewhere, there was no time to waste. Sakura could be in danger. Of all the people in the world, Sasuke knew his brother had a knack for killing the people dearest to him. He had to work fast, dodging every trap and not wasting any time with them.

He soon stood at a halt, there was a wall right in front of him, he was certain this was not there before, he had to know, since the Sharingan can memorize every single detail. A wall would be a pretty big thing to miss, wouldn't it?

"_Another genjutsu… does Itachi really think I'm that stupid?" _Sasuke thought.

He then activated his Sharingan, and figured out the way to break the illusion. He wouldn't be fooled that easily.

_**Outside the door… **_

"It's been pretty quiet for a while… too quiet." Kiba said.

"Yeah. I thought they'd be out of there by now… you don't think—" Ino replied.

"That Itachi might've gotten to them? Well, I'd expect so. He is an S-rank missing-nin after all." Kakashi cut off.

"W-well, I think we should just keep our hopes up." Hinata shuttered.

"Yeah! They'll get out of there! I know it!" Naruto exclaimed.

"_For everyone's sake… I sure hope they are… we've been here for two days now." _ Ino thought.

_**Back in the tunnels… **_

"_Don't worry Sakura… I'll be there… Just hang on…" _Sasuke thought as he dodged another wave of kunais aimed right at him. The tunnels have gotten new traps and other illusions now that Sasuke was making his way back to the barrier. Itachi's doing, most probably.

Sasuke made the last turn, and faced the steel barrier once more. He immediately threw the kunai at it, and with a metallic "clang" the kunai hit the barrier, causing it to move out of the way quickly.

What Sasuke saw at the other side of the barrier, wasn't quite what he expected.

"SAKURA!! BE CAREFUL!" Sasuke shouted as he rushed to cover Sakura.

He was face-to-face with his brother once again, and his eyes went blood red, hatred flowing through his veins once more.

"I you hurt her… I promise you… I will not die until… I KILL YOU FIRST." Sasuke said.

"Oh, so she is your girlfriend… planning to start another Uchiha clan without me, eh?" Itachi said mockingly.

"Hn."

"Well then… here's that present I told you that I would give you earlier… maybe it'll teach you to grow stronger, faster." With that, Itachi then disappeared.

"What the –" Sasuke turned to Sakura, she was shaking.

"_He's using the Mangekyo on her… oh shit." _Sasuke thought. He knew what would happen next. He had to prevent it.

"NO! Snap out of it Sakura! It's all an illusion!" Sasuke grabbed her and tried to get her back to her senses.

_**In Sakura's thoughts… **_

"_What is this? Where am I?" _She thought, confused.

It was a strange sight. Everyone was in either black or white. _"Is this a funeral?" _She thought.

She then saw Hinata, Ino and Tenten crying. She sat next to them, but they didn't seem to be able to notice her presence there. She then heard Ino muttering between sobs and tears. "W-why… did they both… have to… go…" Sakura was stunned at the these words. _"Who died?" _She thought.

Then Tenten said: "Y-yes… and Itachi… still got away…"

"_ITACHI? What does that bastard have to do with this?... NO! IT CAN'T BE--" _She realized something horrible. She ran towards the two coffins, where she saw her own cadaver in one. She had no cuts, no bruises, it was like she died a peaceful death. While, on the other coffin next to it, was Sasuke's corpse. It was beaten and bruised, he came down with a fight. A big fight. She saw Naruto next to Sasuke's coffin, tears rolling down from his eyes.

"Y-you really are a bastard Uchiha… y-you just had to f-fight him alone d-didn't y-you?... Y-you just had t-to play the h-hero for S-sakura…I p-promise you… I'll k-kill him… f-for y-you and S-sakura-chan…" he uttered between sobs and tears.

"_S-sasuke w-was protecting me!? I-I'm the reason he died? I was the s-stupid w-weakling again?" _Sakura couldn't help but cry. She couldn't accept another person risking his life to save hers again. This time, it was Sasuke, and this time, he didn't survive.

"_You truly are a weakling Sakura! Why can you never stand up for yourself! You always need someone looking out for you!... Will I ever learn?" _Sakura said to herself.

And then everything went dark… Sakura could hear thousands of chirping birds, growing louder and louder… she saw an electric blue, flashing light… then she saw… Sasuke. He was moving towards another man, Itachi Uchiha. His brother. All Sakura could do was watch as the love of her life get battered and bruised, he fought with all his might, but was only able to scratch his brother.

Sakura tired to move, to help Sasuke out. But still, she could not move. She just laid there, motionless.

"ITACHI!! DIE YOU BASTARD!" Sasuke shouted as he went in for another attack.

"I don't think so, little brother." Itachi said coolly, as he hit Sasuke's chest and sent him flying into the wall. Leaving a crater.

"I will not let you kill another important person to me!" Sasuke said as he struggled to stand up.

"I already did. You see your girlfriend there with the annoyingly pink hair… she isn't coming back. And now it's time for you to join her."

Sasuke did not wait for his brother to finish talking before attacking him with another blow from his Chokuto. But this time, his attack was blocked and his brother hit him badly. Pain filled his body, and blood poured from his wounds. He was dead. His white shirt was stained thoroughly in blood. His body battered and bruised, it showed clear signs of a struggle.

"_NO!! SASUKE-KUN!!" _Sakura thought in her head. Blank red yes stared at her in horror. Sasuke was not able to finish his life's goal. If only she could fight. They never would've died.

Everything went black again, and Sakura fell into a spiraling pit of despair. She felt like she would never be happy again. Even worse than the emptiness she felt when Sasuke betrayed Konoha. This time, he could never come back.

_**Back to Sasuke… **_

"SAKURA!! SAKURA!! It's all an illusion! Nothing you see in there is real! WAKE-UP SAKURA!! WAKE-UP!!... please wake up… please…" Sasuke did everything he could to wake the young kunoichi up… but he did not succeed. He stared at her beautiful green eyes… but could see nothing, just eyes filled with emptiness and sorrow. And for the first time in about eight years… Sasuke had tears on his yeas once more.

His tears were tiny droplets of sorrow, but he would not let them flow for long, for now, his veins were filled with anger. To get revenge on his brother was his main goal once again. Next time, he would not let him hurt anyone close to him, ever again.

"Next time, brother… I promise you, you will die!"He said to himself.

"I look forward to it little brother." Itachi said from behind Sasuke. "Make sure you actually can kill me by that time… you don't want another little friend of yours ending up like this one do you?" He said, and he vanished.

The door separating Sasuke and Sakura from the rest of the group was finally opened. Naruto, Hinata, Kakashi, Ino and Kiba rushed into the dungeon chamber.

"What happened to Sakura?" Ino said, taking Sakura in her arms and performing some healing jutsu.

"My brother… used the Mangekyo Sharingan on her… I think he tortured her… mentally" Sasuke said, as he was wiping the tears on his face using his hand.

"_He's crying…I've never seen Sasuke like this before. He really does love Sakura after all. " _Ino thought.

"Lets go get back to Konoha, she'll need Tsunade-sama, and Sasuke… don't even think of going away to kill your brother in that state. You won't make it halfway to him before you collapse." Kakashi said to the group.

Sasuke took Sakura in his arms and the group made their way out of the dreaded tunnels.

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:Well… that's it for now… hope it wasn't too dreadful. You guys probably know what happens next.

:Special thanks to "lovegaara4ever" for reviewing… I may not have made this chapter without the support.

:THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED. Please continue. You guys rock!


	12. Chapter 12: Another Simple 'Thank You'

:Yeah, school's over… and it sucks… I miss my friends!!

:I'll try to keep updating faster... there's not much to do here anyway...

:So, here's chapter 12… enjoy!

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**Chapter 12: Another Simple 'Thank You' **

Sasuke saw the blank expression on Sakura's face as he carried her out of the tunnels, her beautiful green eyes showed no emotion. Sasuke gently closed her eyes, so that their image would haunt his thoughts no longer.

"_Will you ever wake up again Sakura?" _Sasuke thought, just as they made another turn towards the hideout's exit.

A light hand laid on Sasuke's shoulder. "Sakura is strong. She'll make it through this." Kakashi tried to comfort Sasuke, but he knew that it would not help the Uchiha so much. But at least he tried, right?

Sasuke looked up to face his sensei. He was the closest thing Sasuke ever had to a big brother, since his true brother was not much of one. Sasuke once thought of a life if Kakashi had been his brother, how they would train together, and he would teach him what he needed to know. It was one of Sasuke's silent dreams. Though he acted quite mature for a twelve year-old back then, he still held childlike dreams for himself. But, this was not the time, or age for such fantasies, he was sixteen years old, and he no longer needed a 'big brother' to help him. He could manage on his own...

Nevertheless, he did realize how much the silver-haired jonin who's face he had never seen, had helped him grow, and how much he had done for him. This was one of the very few times that Sasuke would ever thank anyone for anything... and sure enough, he didn't make such a big deal about it... another simple 'thank you' to another person he owed so much to...

"Thank you Kakashi-sensei." Sasuke said.

"For what?" Kakashi asked.

"Everything." Sasuke knew that this gesture of thanks would never be enough to make up for him being such a stubborn student, and for betraying the Hidden Leaf, just as a simple 'thank you' was not enough to make up for breaking Sakura's heart when he left her alone on that bench. But still, this was all his Uchiha pride could give.

Kakashi smiled through his mask, he had always taken a liking for the young Uchiha. He always thought of Sasuke as a younger version of him. A pupil who would learn techniques with very little practice, who had lost certain people close to him, who had this weird knack for making girls fall for him, an utter stubbornness, and a burning desire to take the lead. He tried to teach his whole team, but it seemed that he taught Sasuke more than the others, not just because he saw himself in him, but because he had the most potential to learn from him, since they had so much in common. After all, you could only teach best, what you know best.

The leaf-nin soon made their way to the tunnels exit. They were finally free of the darkness of the dungeons, but they were greeted by a thick gloomy fog, and the Akatsuki that Kakashi knocked out the day before.

"Not so fast!" The ninja that guarded the entrance to the tunnels suddenly appeared. It's been two days after all. He tried to stop him again.

"Sensei, please take care of Sakura for a second. I'll finish him up." He handed the pink-haired kunoichi to Kakashi, and then moved forward.

"I'll take care of this!" Sasuke told his comrades, he had this look of anger and a seriousness in his tone.

"_My life as an avenger begins again… today." _Sasuke thought to himself.

He drew his chokuto and ran towards Kisame, and seemed to disappear in his speed. He reappeared behind his enemy, and focused his chakra into his chokuto, enveloping it in electric blue. He hit Kisame with a strong strike, slicing his enemy, and ultimately, killed him. It was a quick kill, Kisame could never have seen it coming.

"_Wow. I wouldn't want to get on the bad side of an angry Sasuke." _ Kiba thought to himself.

"It's done. Let's go." Sasuke said with no emotion at all. He walked towards Kakashi and took Sakura back in his arms.

Kakashi saw a look in Sasuke's eyes that told him that he was an avenger once more, that he would not allow anything to stand in his way to revenge ever again.

"_I promise you Sakura, I will take revenge for this, my brother will die, and you will be safe. You will not die. Not while I'm alive." _He silently told the kunoichi he carried in his arms.

Everyone started their way back to Konoha, for their rescue mission was over, and they longed for the comforts of home, for they had been away and tired, for quite long.

"Hey Sasuke, you could let Akamaru carry Sakura for you. It's no problem, Ino and I can walk." Kiba suggested from atop Akamaru, with Ino behind him.

"It's fine. I'll take care of her." He answered.

"No really. You won't be able to move properly and defend or attack while carrying Sakura."

"Fine then, but make sure she'll be okay." Sasuke said, handing Sakura carefully to Kiba.

"I promise." Kiba said, as he and Ino get down from Akamaru, and sitting Sakura on his dog.

And, with that simple gesture of acceptance Sasuke knew that he should to the smart thing this time. He will continue to train and grow stronger, but now, he would not refuse the help of others. Letting go of the pride he had so much of will be a hard task, but he is determined not to let ANYTHING get in the way of him and his revenge, even if the threat would come from inside him. Allies can really change a battle, and Sasuke would take advantage of it. Besides, he remembered Sakura saying that they would help him, back on that tree, on his first day out of the hospital in Konoha...

So the leaf-nin made their way as fast as possible to the hidden leaf, for they had no time to waste. They took a different route from their previous one, and it was a route that cut directly through the forest. It would not be passing by any other villages, but it was the shortest way home.

Once they made it out of the mist, a beautiful afternoon sky greeted them. It was a refreshing sight, after seeing so much darkness and fog for the past three days. There were few clouds, and the light of the sun removed the sense of gloom from all that fog.

The change in scenery did energize the leaf-nin in a way that they felt closer to home, even if they were very hungry, and very tired form their journey, and of course, all that fighting took its toll.

As the afternoon sun began to set, the leaf-nin were talking on whether they should continue making their way to Konoha, or set up camp and stay for the night.

"I'm really tired… and hungry…" Naruto said, clutching his stomach. He saw Sasuke glaring at him, surely Sasuke did not agree on staying in the forest any longer. "b-but, I could always go to Ichiraku's once we get home." Naruto said hastily after seeing Sasuke 'death glaring' him.

"Think we could just continue making our way home. It isn't that far anyway." Kiba said.

"But, if we do set up camp, we can get some food, and take some rest. Hinata's been in those dungeons for so long, and all of us are very hungry and tired, especially you Sasuke." Ino pointed out.

"I'm fine, lets just continue back to Konoha. A few hours of rest and sleep and one meal wouldn't make much of a difference. We could just do that back home. Besides, we still don't know how we're gonna help Sakura wake up from this." Sasuke said with a serious tone. It was clear to everyone that he too, was hungry and tired, but he put Sakura's life before his own.

"I-I'm fine t-too. I want to go home. I'm s-sure everyone's worrying... f-for all of us." Hinata said shyly.

"So, let's get going then, since most of you want to get home. I think it won't take us that long to reach the village. Maybe if we go fast, we could get there in three hours." Kakashi said.

And everyone followed the silver-haired jonin leading the way back to the hidden leaf. Naruto and Hinata closely behind, followed by Sasuke who was at Akamaru's side, for he wanted to keep Sakura close, and at the back were Kiba and Ino. The leaf-nin continued to hasten their pace, as the full moon's light shown through the forest's canopy, and the bright twinkling of the stars that seemed to greet them.

All the leaf-nin were happy to know that they would soon be home. They could not think of a time when they would long to see those gigantic gates, and that mountain with the Hokages faces on it, as they longed to see them now.

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:Okay, I hope you guys liked this chapter…

:Please review!!


	13. Chapter 13: An Avenger's Life

:Chapter 13… hmm…well, here it goes.

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**Chapter 13: An Avenger's Life**

The leaf-nin have finally made their way to Konoha. The gigantic gates of the village towered over them, it was a sight all of them welcomed.

"I'll take Sakura to the hospital. Thank you Kiba for letting Akamaru carry her." Sasuke said, and carried Sakura again.

"No problem." Kiba answered.

"I'll help you." Ino offered.

"Me too!" Naruto exclaimed.

"No Naruto. We can't have too many of us there. Besides, Hinata just got rescued. You should take her home." Ino said.

"Okay then. Come on Hina-chan." Naruto said, and they went off.

"Let's go Ino." Sasuke said, and he leaped off for the hospital.

"I'll be fine Kiba, see you later." Ino said to Kiba, and followed Sasuke.

"Kiba, hurry and inform the Hokage. I have to do this… thing." Kakashi said.

"Fine then." And Kiba made his way to the Godaime.

_**In Konoha Hospital…**_

They had already got Sakura a room, and Ino was checking on Sakura.

"How is she doing?" Sasuke asked Ino.

"She's alive, but that's about it… she's not doing too well." She answered.

"_This is all my fault." _Sasuke thought.

"Don't worry, let's stay on the bright side. She'll wake up. I just know it." Ino said.

"I certainly hope so." Sasuke said, staring emptily at the window outside.

"You're not thinking of going away again are you?" Ino asked worriedly.

"It's just that, I don't want this to happen anymore."

"Just think of how Sakura will react if she wakes up, and you're nowhere to be found!"

"At least, she's safer here…" Sasuke said, glaring at the kunoichi's body on the hospital bed.

"But… you know Sasuke, I DID use to really like you. But, after what you did to her 3 years ago, I hated you for it. I can't bear to see Sakura like that again. You had to see it. It was like she would never be happy again. It took her months to recover. Was it worth it Sasuke? Was it?"

"I know what I did. I left her here. She's grown stronger because of it. She learned to let go. She was safe, and I didn't want anyone in my way. You know I would never take her with me. Life with Orochimaru isn't exactly pleasant, but I needed it. I needed power. I did wonder why he would 'volunteer' to train me and wanted me to get stronger. I found that out soon enough, he just wanted me as his next body, because of this accursed Sharingan. To think, even my brother killed my clan and left me as the only one alive, just for these eyes. Sometimes I wish I never had them…" Sasuke sighed. "You were asking me if leaving Sakura to train with the snake-sannin was worth it. I'm not so sure myself, but he had managed to teach me a few things. But still, why wasn't it enough to kill my brother? Maybe because he could never properly teach me how to use my Sharingan… I wonder how strong I would be if I stayed, with Kakashi training me, since he has a Sharingan of his own, but I guess I'll never know. If I could go back, I think I still would have left."

"Well then… it's been a long night. Let's get some rest." Ino yawned, and fell asleep on the chair.

Sasuke stood up from his seat, and stared at Sakura's pink hair, and the terrified expression on her face.

"_I'd hate to see whatever it is my brother is making you see. But I hope you wake up soon. I probably won't be here by that time… but still. I don't want my brother taking another important person from me. Please Sakura… please… don't…die" _Sasuke smiled lightly and said, "Goodbye, Sakura. Thank you."He leaned down and gave her a light kiss, and went out through the hospital window, and disappeared into the darkness.

"_This time, I will kill you Itachi. Even if I die trying. I have nothing more to lose." _Sasuke opened the gates to the Uchiha compound, and walked straight to the Uchiha armory. He took kunai, shuriken, scrolls, and a few other weapons he thought he might need. _"I'm bringing these weapons for the Akatsuki, I'm taking as many of you as I can, then I'll kill you with this." _Sasuke held his sword, and glared at his eye's own reflection. _"These eyes, caused me all this pain." _ Sasuke then put it back in it's case, and made his way out of the armory.

As he walked towards his own home in the compound, memories of his childhood filled his mind.

He could se him, sitting on the porch, watching jealously at his father training his brother, as his mother tried to comfort him. After his brother and father were done with training, he asked his brother to train with him, all he did was poke him in the forehead, and say "I'm really sorry brother, but I have this thing dad told me to do. Maybe tomorrow I could help you train."

The memory vanished. Sasuke smirked and thought _"I guess you really did take everything from me. My family, father's attention, the only woman I ever loved, and even three years of my godforsaken life. You're going to pay for all of that brother, you'll pay, with your life."_

But then he thought of Naruto, and how far he had come to try and make him stay in Konoha the first time he left. He made him think for a moment, that revenge isn't that sweet after all. Sasuke tried his best to put those thoughts to the back of his mind, for this was such a crucial time. He had to focus. _"If I don't get my revenge, I'll regret it for the rest of my life, he'll take more from me, if that's even possible." _And at this moment, Sasuke had a stunning realization. He not only wanted revenge, he needed it. His pathetic life had no other purpose, all he was, was a tool for death. With Sakura gone, he had no more hope of restoring the Uchiha clan, so revenge was the only way to go. Ha realized that restoring the clan, and killing his brother was one goal too many. He made himself believe that the life of an avenger was all he had left. He chose that path, and made a promise to fulfill the promise that came with it.

He opened the door to his house, and made his way to the kitchen. He packed some food, and went on his way. He passed by the room with the Uchiha clan symbol for the last time, and smiled. **"**This is for you." He muttered, and the door to his home closed behind him.

"Goodbye Konoha." Sasuke said, and locked the gate to the compound.

"Hey, Sasuke, not so fast." The masked jounin suddenly appeard in front of a very surprised Uchiha.

"What… how did you--?" Sasuke asked.

"Well, teacher's intuition. Is it what you really want Sasuke?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes. I'm sure. I have nothing left here."

"Remember, Sakura isn't dead yet. There's still a chance-"

"Even though, if I don't go and kill my brother now, she'll never be safe. He'll just hurt her again, and maybe even kill her. I can't let that happen, not anymore. I need to do it, for her."

"Come on, Sasuke. Don't try and make this look all noble. All you want is to kill your brother, your revenge. This isn't really about Sakura now is it?"

"Hmm… I know you won't believe me, after all, you do know me best. But sensei, I have to do this. Revenge is all I have left, and when I do kill Itachi, I can finally be free, and like I said, Sakura will be safe. After I kill him, I can have a life of my own, I don't even know what a life without all this hate and suffering, and my brother's shadow hovering over me is like. This… pathetic… life of an avenger is all I have ever known. I know I can never be anything else without accomplishing my goal of killing my brother."

"If that's what you really want, I know I can't stop you without killing you first."

"Exactly. Just please make sure not to let anyone follow me. I don't want any more trouble."

" You better get going, they've probably found out you left."

"Thank you very much Kakashi-sensei."

"No problem. Just make sure you come back alive, I'll have a spot on the ANBU waiting for you."

"Hn." Sasuke smiled and set off for his brother.

"_Good luck Sasuke, I hope finally getting your revenge makes you happy." _Kakashi smiled through his mask as his gaze followed the dark shadow of his most favorite student. _"Now, how will I convince Naruto not to follow Sasuke, and make sure that Sakura will be fine?... Nice Kakashi, you just landed yourself into a big pile of trouble…" _Kakashi then went of for the Konoha hospital.

Sasuke was moving fast, and he was alone with his thoughts again. _"The life of an avenger… I wonder if I truly chose this life for myself… or just part of my brother's big plan for tearing the eyes off of their sockets once he thinks I'm strong enough."_ Sasuke smirked. _"Wow, my brother really needs to get a life. All that work for a pair of red eyes… sometimes I think he had an even more pathetic life than mine." _He laughed at the thought, and was glad that once again, he would face his brother, and this time, he had no fear. He wasn't sure if he would even make it out alive, but that wasn't important anymore.

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:Well, that's it… sorry if I kinda repeated my points over and over… at least you got it.

:PLEASE REVIEW!!


	14. Chapter 14: No Worries

:Ok… I'm beginning this chapter with the longest author's note ever written, you can of course, skip it. I just really had to put it here. Feel free to scroll down to the story.

: I've been having a writer's block lately, until this sudden flash of inspiration hit me in the head like a punch from an angry Sakura. The way the story goes finally came to me, I usually just write as the story goes, but it's easier to write chapter's when you already have ideas as to what's gonna happen. We're still quite a long way from that though. The only thing is, I can't find the right words to explain it. It's hard to put ideas to writing, as you can see, my writing style isn't that great, and I suck at fight scenes. There are a few really boring chapters in this one, and some characters are really out of character. But hey, this is my first. I'll get better.

:Oh yeah… I've been reading fanfics for the past few days, I noticed I haven't put a disclaimer on this one yet… mainly because I thought that it was obvious that I didn't own Naruto. That's why this is a fanfiction… remember?

:Anyways, enough of my useless blabber. On with chapter 14!! Hope you enjoy.

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**Chapter 14: No Worries**

Ino jumped awake at the sound of a loud 'bang' caused by the Godaime herself, slamming the door to Sakura's hospital room open. Kiba was following right behind her.

"Hokage-sama!" Ino said in a surprised tone.

"What happened to Sakura?" Tsunade asked in a hurry.

"Itachi, used the Mangekyo Sharingan on her, at least that's what Sasuke said." Ino explained.

"Let's see…" Tsunade walked over to Sakura's bed, and began checking on her.

After a few minutes, the Godaime was done.

"How is she?" Ino asked worriedly.

"She'll be fine. It might take her a few days or weeks to wake up, but she's alive. I don't think Itachi even meant to kill her…" the Godaime said with a smile. "…wait… where is Sasuke?"

Ino looked around the room, and a panicked expression soon took over her face. "Oh no."

"Don't tell me he left again?" Kiba said with a sigh.

"Oh no! Sakura's gonna kill me!! I can't believe I let him escape!" Ino said, panicking.

"Relax Ino. Everything will be fine." Kiba said, comforting her.

Suddenly another 'bang' was heard when Naruto entered slamming the door.

"IS EVERYONE TRYING TO BREAK DOWN THAT DOOR!!" They all heard a shrill female voice say from outside the room, probably one of the nurses or other patients from down the hall.

Everyone laughed… well except Sakura of course.

"How's Sakura doing?" Naruto asked once everyone was done laughing.

"She'll be fine… but, it'll take her a few days before she wakes up." Ino answered him.

"Oh… okay. Where's Sasuke?" He asked.

"We don't know." Ino said sadly.

"What do you mean 'you don't know'?" Naruto asked, beginning to get angry.

"I mean I DON'T KNOW." Ino said sternly.

"Hokage-sama. I'm going after him. He's probably gone to kill his brother again. I'm sure he'll come back once he knows that Sakura will be fine." Naruto said.

"No so fast Naruto." Kiba said.

"I haven't got much time. I can't let him escape again."

" I mean… why would you chase after someone who doesn't want to be chased." Kiba said.

"What do you know anyway Inuzuka!" Naruto said angrily. "He's not thinking straight. I promised Sakura that I won't let him go. A shinobi never backs down from his word."

"Wait Naruto, Kiba's right." Kakashi suddenly appears to them in a puff of smoke. "He can't be helped. He'll run away again if you go get him back. He'll come back after the job is done."

"_Good thing I got here in time… these two were about to knock each other's heads off." _Kakashi thought to himself.

"Kakashi-sensei!?" Naruto said. "What the heck!"

"As your sensei… I'm ordering you. Do not go after Sasuke. He can take care of himself."

"But sensei…" Naruto said, surprised at what his sensei just said.

"No buts, Naruto. Just trust me on this." Kakashi said with a smile through his mask.

"But… Hokage-sama… help me out here!" Naruto said.

"Kakashi must have a good reason for this… right Kakashi?" The Godaime asked.

"Yes, Hokage-sama." The mask jonin said.

"Naruto… you have to follow your sensei's orders… But I think we better talk about this in my office, along with that mission report, Kakashi."

"Hai Hokage-sama." Kakashi said.

Kakashi and the Godaime then disappeared off to the Hokage's place.

"What the heck was that about?" Naruto said confused.

"I'm pretty sure at what the 'thing' Kakashi had to do when we first got here was." Kiba said.

"Which is?" Naruto said. "I don't get it."

"Oh Naruto… isn't it obvious by now?" Ino said.

"No it isn't." he said.

"Kakashi followed Sasuke around. He probably suspected that Sasuke would try to escape again…" Then Kiba's face showed a sight curious look. "… I wonder what Sasuke said that convinced Kakashi to let him go."

"Yeah. I wonder…" Ino said.

"Well then… it's been a long night, and since everyone seems to be freaking okay with the fact that Sasuke ran away again, and that Sakura's in a coma… So, I guess I'll make my way to Ichiraku's. Good night guys…" Naruto said with a sigh. But then he saw the sun peeking out form the hospital wondow. "I mean, good morning." And Naruto closed the door behind him.

"_I can't believe everyone's taking this like nothing happened. I guess Sakura really will be okay, and so will Sasuke… but still… I don't get it… maybe this is some kind of joke, or a reality show or something… never mind… why worry when there's nothing to worry about… RAMEN TIME!!" _The last thought put a big smile on his face.

"Well, Ino…" Kiba said with a fanged smile. He lowered himself until he and Ino were inches from each other's faces. He could smell her flowery scent. "we're all alone…" he whispered in her ear. He inched closer and closer… and got lost in her beautiful blue eyes that always reminded him of the sky, and the ocean… and pretty much any other beautiful thing in the word that was blue, but could never match the beauty of hers, well, not for this particular Inuzuka. He tried to go and kiss her, but she pulled back.

"Oh come on Kiba…" Ino said with a giggle. As she stroked the red fang marks on Kiba's cheeks. "We haven't even had breakfast yet, you pervert. Besides, you don't wanna do that while Sakura's here." Ino said jokingly.

"Fine then… let's go for a walk, and get some breakfast. I left Akamaru downstairs." Kiba said.

"Yeah, let's go. Then maybe we can finally get some rest." Ino replied.

"I'll walk you home too. Then I'll go and catch up with Shino. He told me he had to tell me something important once we were back from the mission." Kiba said happily.

"You aren't going to sleep? Aren't you tired from our mission?" Ino asked with concern.

"It's not like we actually did much. We just sat around the tunnels waiting for Sakura and Sasuke to get out of there."

"Well… you're right."

The two of them made their way downstairs.

_**In the Godaime's office…**_

"Now Kakashi… explain to me… why you would let Sasuke go, since you most likely talked to him before the left, am I correct?" Tsunade demanded.

"Yes Hokage-sama. He told me… that he could never live another life besides the one of an avenger, unless he would fulfill his goals." The masked jonin said.

"But… he didn't know that Sakura would be fine!"

"I told him that she probably would be, but he said that she would never be safe while his brother was around. You could see the seriousness in his eyes, Hokage-sama. He was so sure." Kakashi said.

"I see. But I just don't want to see my pupil so… sad." Tsunade sighed.

"So do I. But people get stronger, they learn from their mistakes, they learn, to overcome losses." At the last word, Kakashi's voice lowered.

"Okay then Kakashi… I'll trust you with this one… but if anything goes wrong-" Tsunade said.

"I know." Kakashi said with a smile through his mask.

"Now… what happened on your mission?" She asked in a serious tone.

"Well…" and Kakashi began his report, and after a good amount of talk… "It's amazing how strong Sasuke has become. I think I couldn't have stopped him without killing him, and I'm sure it wouldn't be easy to do that either." You could tell the seriousness in Kakashi's voice.

"Well then… you may go." The Godaime said as soon as she was satisfied.

"Thank you."

"Oh, and tell Shizune I need to talk to her, she's probably downstairs."

"Yes. Hokage-sama." And Kakashi made his way to the door.

He walked lazily through, and down the stairs, with his face once again buried in another Icha-icha book. Until he suddenly bumped into a tower of scrolls, which fell to the floor, and a surprised Shizune fell into view.

"I'm so sorry Kakashi-senpai." Shizune said, as she dived down to pick them up.

"No, no. It's my fault." Kakashi said, smiling. He helped her pick up the scrolls. "Let me help you carry these. Oh yeah, the Godaime said she had something to tell you."

"I can handle it, don't worry." Shizune said, blushing.

"No, really, I haven't got anything better to do." Kakashi said with a smile you could only see by the look of his one eye. But you could always tell.

"Okay, Kakashi-senpai." She said.

"Call me Kakashi, just Kakashi." He said as they climbed the stairs carrying a load of scrolls.

They soon made their way to the Hokage's office.

"Kakashi, what are you doing here?" Tsunade asked.

"I bumped into Shizune, and decided to help her out." Kakashi said. "Well then, I'll be going now." And he disappeared into a puff of smoke.

Tsunade began to laugh. Loudly.

"What's so funny?" Shizune asked.

"If you could only see the way you look at him." And the Godaime then burst out in laughter again.

"You've been drinking too much sake." Shizune couldn't help but blush. _"He should've been able to see, or sense I was there... he's a jonin after all... or is that book really that distracting?" _She thought.

The Godaime continued laughing…

* * *

:This chapter should've been much more tragic, but I just couldn't do it. It wouldn't make much sense if I killed Sakura, not since I figured out how the story's gonna go. But, remember, Sasuke thinks she's dead. Oh, and the Kakashi-Shizune thing just hit me while typing, I just had to put it up… it'll probably be just on this chapter though. Sorry for the Kiba-Ino stuff… maybe I've been reading too many Kiba-Ino fanfics... I love the couple! Don't you? Okay, you probably don't, anyway, that's just me.

:Hey... this is actually the longest chapter in this story! Maybe because of the authors notes and all the random stuff... you can tell I was in a good mood today... hahaha.

:Right… so what do you think? The only way I'll know is if you review!

: THANKS FOR READING!


	15. Chapter 15: Turquoise Tears

:Disclaimer again… I don't own Naruto… you guys already know that…

: So…chapter 15… get ready for some character depression...

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**Chapter 15: Turquoise Tears **

"You know, I've been jealous of you since we fought at the Chunin exams Sakura." Ino said as she put daffodils on the table next to Sakura's hospital bed. The pink-haired kunoichi still hasn't woken up. Ino didn't know why she kept talking to Sakura even if she knew she wouldn't even hear a reply, it must be her sociable nature, or the fact that she just needed someone to talk to.

"You were smarter, now you're the Hokage-sama's favorite apprentice, no one can top you when it comes to medical-jutsu." She said with a sigh. Tears started rolling down her face. "I know I'll never be as good as you." She stared at her best friend's unmoving body. "But, I'll never give up. Asuma-sensei told me never to let you beat me, in ninjutsu, or in love." A sad smile drew on her face. "Oh Sakura, why don't you wake up already?! It's been a month!" more tears rolled down her cheeks. "We couldn't save Asuma sensei! Maybe… maybe if you were awake… you could've saved him!" She said between sobs. "Kurenai-sensei has his child you know… it's always been obvious… they were so close." Ino said, trying to cheer herself up. She just drowned in a pool of her own turquoise tears.

"I wish Kiba was here…" she said, trying to wipe the tears from her face. "I miss him so much…"

_**A week ago, in the Yamanaka flower shop…**_

"I'm back babe!" Kiba had just returned from his mission in the land of the waterfall.

"Oh Kiba!" Ino said with a faint smile, "I'm so glad you're back." And she gave him a hug.

Kiba handed her a bouquet of lavenders, "I missed you too." He said with a smile.

"Lavenders?" Ino said.

"They reminded me of you." He replied, as he stroked her long blonde hair.

"Kiba." She said softly.

"Wait, I have one more thing for you." And he handed her a stuffed toy dog.

"Now this reminds me of you." She said with a small smile.

"Not so fast, take a look at his pocket." Kiba said with a cocky grin.

Ino did, and she pulled out a beautiful diamond ring.

"Now, don't you think I'm cuter than that thing?" He said with a smirk, and got down on his knees.

"Will you marry me?"

Ino burst into tears. "Oh Kiba."

"Now, I know we're still young, but we are shinobi… and, there's risks, you know?" Kiba saw the expression on her face, and began thinking quickly of what he might have said wrong. "Baby, what I mean is, I know we have our misunderstandings, but, now is as good a time as any, I'm so sure… I want to spend my life with you."

Ino didn't answer, and Kiba was worried. _"Oh no…" _Kiba thought.

"Kiba, I-" Ino was stuttering. "I don't know what to say." Tears continued to roll down her cheeks.

"Just say yes…" Kiba said softly, wiping the tears of Ino's face.

"But-" Ino said. Kiba moved them toward the wall, and began to kiss her. Her tears wet both their cheeks, and Ino didn't stop him. Kiba kept kissing her for a good number of minutes, but she didn't kiss back. She just kept crying.

Inoichi, her father, suddenly came in the room, and saw the tears on his daughter's eyes.

"Get off my daughter… now!" He said.

Kiba stepped back hastily, "S-sorry sir." He said in a sad, low voice. "I'll be leaving now." He said as he made his way towards the door.

Ino fell on her knees, and clutched Kiba's hand, "Kiba…wait I-" she said, her sad blue eyes piercing Kiba's heart like a freshly-sharpened katana.

"I'm very sorry Ino. I... I understand." He said, as he let her go and closed the door behind him. He had some of his own tears in his eyes, and wiped them with his jacket. "Come on Akamaru, we're going home." He said to his dog, who was left outside, and they made their way home in silence.

"I told you that Inuzuka boy was trouble!" Inoichi said to his daughter.

"No dad! You're wrong!" Ino said with sobs. "He's the best guy I've ever met…" and her father hugged her as she cried on his chest. "…why can't I even say yes…" she cried. "he asked me… to…to… marry him!"

"Do you truly love him Ino?" her father said.

"More than anything." She said, wiping the tears off her own face.

"So why didn't you… I thought you would be happy…" he said with a look of mixed confuseion and worry on his face.

"I…I just got news that Asuma-sensei got killed by another one of the Akatsuki…" she said, trying to hold back more tears. "I just… I just couldn't take it… I… I wasn't ready…" Asuma was after all like a second father to her, and losing him, Ino couldn't make such a big decision so soon.

_**Back in the present…**_

"You just can't let me win at anything can you?"she said, looking again at her pink-haired friend. "I thought I finally found something I was better at than you… I had Kiba. He was always there for me, he comforted me, he made me laugh… But now, I haven't even talked to him. I love him so much… I just needed time…" Ino cried. "Oh god, why didn't I just say yes!? I knew I would anyway!" She said, frustrated with herself. She finally wiped all the tears form her face, and stopped crying.

"Anyway, enough about me. I'm sorry I haven't been a good friend. I'm sure Sasuke will be very happy when he finds out his clan is restored." She said with a kind smile. "That's right! You're gonna be a mom, forehead!" she said. "I guess you didn't get the chance to tell me what's been going on with you two. I mean, I always thought Kiba and me were held together by passion, you know… I never knew you guys were like that!" She said jokingly. "Well, that's none of my business anymore, is it?" she stood from her chair and looked directly at Sakura. "So I need you to wake up… for your kid, and I desperately need someone to talk to." She fixed up the daffodils on her table again. "You love these flowers don't you? Well, I gotta go now. I need to get something to eat." She said with a smile, and made her way out of the hospital.

On the way, she bumps into, who else, but Shino Aburame. Kiba's best friend.

"Hey Shino! Can I talk to you for a minute?" Ino called out. "I'll pay for dinner."

"Okay then." He replied.

They went to a sushi bar near Ichiraku's…

"So, this is about Kiba." He said, after they ordered.

"How did you know?" she said.

"He told me… he proposed…" he said in his usual mysterious voice.

"Well, he did. About a week ago… but… oh Shino." She said as she fought back tears.

"He's killing himself training." He said. "Why didn't you say yes?"

"I-I just found out about Asuma-sensei's death when he proposed. I just couldn't take it."

"I see."

"Could you tell him? Please Shino. I really love him, and… I want to be with him"

"You can tell him yourself… he's right over there." Shino pointed out a dark figure next to a huge dog standing near Ichiraku's Ramen Bar.

"Will he even talk to me?" Ino said.

"You won't know unless you try."

"Thank you so much Shino!" she said as she hugged a confused and surprised Aburame, and headed for Ichiraku's Ramen Bar.

"Kiba! Kiba!" Ino called out.

Kiba didn't move.

"Oh, don't be like that." She said and pouted.

"Baby…" he said, as he clutched Ino's waist.

"Kiba… you're… you're drunk!" She said as she smelled the alcohol in his breath.

"So what if I am…" he said with a cocky grin, and tried to kiss her.

"Kiba… no!" Ino pulled back. "What happened to you?" she cried out.

"You… you left me." He said.

"I-I didn't… you're drunk Kiba!" she said.

"Why the heck do you think I'm drunk!?" he growled.

Ino couldn't answer, she cried, and fell to her knees on the street.

"Pull yourself together Kiba!" Shino then appeared, helping Ino stand up.

"Leave her alone Shino! She's mine!" Kiba growled. People began to stare.

"I'm not taking anything from you. Just calm down." He said.

"Akamaru! Let's take him!" Kiba was angry, and drunk. Not a good mix.

The dog, surprisingly did not follow. He just sat there, staring like he knew what was better for his master.

"I hate you! All of you… you turned Akamaru against me!" Kiba said, but he fell down, drunk.

"Now Ino, go home. I'll take care of this one." Shino said.

"O-okay Shino." Ino said, stuttering. _"What have I done?" _She thought, as she cried her way home.

"Now Akamaru, I know I'm not your master, but you need to help me take him home." Shino said to the dog.

Akamaru let Shino put Kiba on his back, and they soon reached the Inuzuka residence.

"Kiba! Oh my god!" Hana, Kiba's older sister cried out. "What happened?"

"He's drunk." Shino said.

"He's been like this all week!" Hana said. "Shino, you're his best friend, right? Help him, please."

"He'll be fine… they… they just need to talk…" Shino said.

"I hope so." Hana said with a sigh.

* * *

:Was it too emotional? Well, I promise more action in the next chapter… and we will be seeing Sasuke again! Now doesn't that sound like fun?

:Yes, Sakura is pregnant with Sasuke's kid, the Uchiha clan now has hope. The thing happened somewhere in the middle of the previous chapters… I'll leave the imagining to you guys... oh, Sasuke thinks Sakura's dead, so he doesn't even have a clue that he's got a kid.

:So… thanks for all the reviews, and for reading this chapter… please continue!


	16. Chapter 16: The Beginning of the End

:Woohoo!! I love getting reviews! Thanks so much!

:I don't own Naruto…

:Okay… I promised some Sasuke… so here goes Chapter 16…

* * *

**Chapter 16: The Beginning of the End**

_**In the Land of Rain…**_

Sasuke Uchiha was leaning on a gigantic tree, thinking about the looming mass of the very difficult tasks that have burdened him for the past few years. He now had to accomplish them.

First, he had to figure out where the Akatsuki hideout is. He has known from Orochimaru, a former member of the Akatsuki, that their base of operations was here, in Amegakure, but where exactly, he still had to find out.

Then, he had to make sure none of the Akatsuki get in the way. He's built his life around this event, and it just had to be one-on-one. He didn't want to lose just because he was outnumbered. But, knowing his brother, he probably would fight alone. Still, he had to make sure though.

Lastly, he had to finish his life's goal, finally ending his life as an avenger, once and for all. He had to kill the man he loathed the most, his own brother. This was the event he's built up his whole life. He couldn't bear the thought of not accomplishing this task. He couldn't die until he killed Itachi.

He hadn't really thought so much of what comes after that, he never has. All he's ever focused his life on was the act of killing his brother; there was no time for concentrating on much else. All he knew he wanted to do afterwards was restore his clan, and that was it, the story of his life.

He had no _real_ dreams, not like Naruto's dreams of becoming the hidden leaf's greatest Hokage, he didn't even have a strange one, like Orochimaru's dream of living forever to learn every single jutsu ever created. Not even the tiny inkling of a dream that everyone had as a child, a dream of what they envisioned themselves to be in the future.

He even thought he had nothing else to hold on to. Sure, there was a certain pink-haired kunoichi that held his heart, but he wasn't even sure she was still alive. Even more clueless, he doesn't know he has an heir. His life's plan was being carried out by Sakura, even in her comatose state.

There was also Kakashi, his sensei, that thought him the technique he has been using the most recently, well, not the exact technique, but at least variations for it. He was also the closest thing he ever had of a big-brother, he was someone he looked up to. Someone that taught him a lot, someone he owed so much to. He had also saved his life in a number of different occasions.

Yeah, he did have friends, or at least people who _could _be his friends…

And Naruto, of course, that noisy dobe that was his first _real _friend, but he would never admit to that, he didn't know if they would even speak to him after leaving and betraying them…

Wait, he didn't really betray them did he?

He just left them, to get strong and defeat his brother, it's not like he killed innocent people, or would he be a threat to Konoha's safety. Why in the world would he willingly do such things? He understood the point that he was to be Orochimaru's next vessel, and how that could be seen as a threat, but he never let that happen, he ended up ending the threat itself, he killed Orochimaru. He was also responsible for getting rid of other threats to Konoha, like killing of a few enemies when he first went in search of his brother. He has also killed a number of the Akatsuki present, or former, Orochimaru included.

Strangely enough, getting stronger and obtaining power was exactly what his brother wanted him to do. He was a clueless puppet, a mindless fool who aimlessly followed the words that came from his brother's mouth. He would never admit to this, of course. He still couldn't really grasp the fact that his brother only left him alive so that he could take his eyes from their sockets and use them as his own. He knew that transferring the sharingan was possible indeed, since his own sensei Kakashi has received one of his own, though, he never really asked from who he got it. But still, the idea of killing your clan and leaving your little brother alive to grow in hate and despise you just for eyes, sickened Sasuke like nothing ever could. It was very strange that some people _actually _thought that he was left alive because he _loved_ his little brother. Could a man who killed his entire clan actually have a heart enough to spare his brother? Nope. It was a thought that never entered Sasuke's mind. He always knew it was never compassion; he thought there was something much, much more, sinister, evil, and/or simply psychotic behind that massacre. Whether he really wanted to know, he was not sure of.

Sasuke heard muffled footsteps on the trail below, and he snapped back into reality. It was time to act.

He saw a man wearing the Akatsuki cloak, dark with red clouds scattered on it. It was Kisame. The blue-skinned sword wielding Akatsuki he thought he killed when they were in the mist. This did not however, surprise Sasuke so much. He saw that jutsu that allowed him to escape, but did not go after him. They needed to get back home and get Sakura to the hospital, after all.

Sasuke jumped off the tree and landed soundlessly behind the Akatsuki.

"So… Sasuke Uchiha… here to finish me off? Or are you going after Itachi?" Kisame said, he had sensed Sasuke's chakra only after Sasuke had landed behind him, with his chokuto at the ready, it's polished, thin and razor-sharp blade already grazing his neck.

"Maybe both. You're in no condition to fight me." Sasuke said in his ear. "I have the upper hand." He said, as he removed Kisame's gigantic sword from his back, and threw it several meters away. "You have no weapon."

"I must admit, I never thought you'd make it this far… You've killed Oruchimaru and Deidara. That makes two. Counting Orochimaru, who left before you killed him." He said. "How did you do it?"

"Orochimaru tried to get control of my body. I countered him, and killed him. Deidara however, blew himself up, as a last resort." Sasuke said with a smirk on his face. He had killed more of the Akatsuki than 

anyone else. He remembered what Kakashi told him before he left Konoha for a second time, maybe working for the ANBU was really what he was meant to do.

"Now there's gonna be four of you." Sasuke said. "You and my brother are next."

"Ahh. I see. But don't you think you should find out where he is first?"

"I'm sure you're going to tell me." Sasuke said sarcastically.

"On the contrary. I will. He's been expecting you."

Sasuke was surprised at this statement. _"He needs my eyes now does he?"_ Sasuke thought as hate and rage burned inside him like another one of their family's jutsus.

"So… the Akatsuki hideout…" Kisame began giving him the directions, he was so sure that Itachi would survive this. No way little Sasuke would be able to beat him.

"I know it's a trap. But that's a risk I'm willing to take. Now, I'll be doing Konoha a favor, and getting rid of another one of the Akatsuki." Sasuke said. "Chidori Nagashi!" He charged blue, lighting chakra into his chokuto, and did what supposedly would have cut off Kisame's head.

"Three down, one to go." He said to himself, already tasting his revenge.

He dashed up the trees, moving swiftly through the forest. He could feel how close he was to fulfilling his life's goals. He could just imagine standing over his brother's nearly dead body and telling him that he was a fool to think that he could never have done it. He could see himself taking his brother's eyes for his own, and using his own evil plot against him.

"You're going to die brother." He said to himself, and with a smirk on his face, he continued his pursuit of the Akatsuki's lair.

_**Meanwhile, in Konoha Hospital…**_

"Sakura has slowly been improving Hokage-sama." One of the med-nin said.

"I see. She is regaining consciousness slowly." She smiled. "I trust the baby is fine as well?"

"Yes Hokage-sama." She replied.

"_Could Itachi be releasing her, or is she fighting it… could it be that Itachi is weakening? Or has Sasuke killed him already?"_ thoughts raced through Tsunade's mind as she heard the report .

"Stay strong Sakura." She said softly to her student's still unmoving body. But now however, she seemed to be breathing more, and her face had a more peaceful expression compared to the look of horror on her face when she first came in.

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:Well, that's about it for this chapter… thanks for reading! I'm planning on four more chapters to go.

:I know the chapter title has been used so many times before. But it just fits this one so much!

:PLEASE REVIEW!!


	17. Chapter 17: The End of the Uchiha

:I can't believe it… it was like yesterday when my friend told me about this site… now I'm close to finishing my first fanfic. And a second one's on the way!!

:I know it's not that great, but I'll get better at writing stuff… so, here goes chapter 17…

* * *

**Chapter 17: The End of the Uchiha **

Through the immensely thick forest, he was able to find the place he was looking for. It was behind a huge tree, and had a very discreet entrance. It was a flight of stairs that led underground.

Sasuke entered the Akatsuki's hideout, he was cautious, but he saw no one around. The place was empty, or so it seemed. He continued to pass through a series of tunnels, just like the one he had been in on the previous mission to save Hinata.

He wandered cautiously in the tunnels, looking for any signs of his brother, or any of the other Akatsuki there.

"Little brother… I see you're finally here. Your hatred… I can feel it." He heard his brother's voice say, just as he entered what seemed to be the tunnels center. It was a large, cave-like, and empty. He could hear the haunting drips of water from the cave's ceiling.

"I already know it's not my hatred you want brother. You want my sharingan. Well, you're not getting them, YOU WILL DIE." Sasuke said coldly with determination in his still onyx eyes. This was the moment he lived for.

"Let's just see who dies tonight." Itachi said as he activated his Mangekyo Sharingan. "Tsukuyomi." He muttered. He felt a little weaker after using the Mangekyo again. The side-effects of the Kekkei Genkai taking its toll on him.

Sasuke's vision went dark, the cave dissapeared and he found himself in the same illusion his brother had used on him before. The Uchiha massacre was playing once again in his mind. His mother, and father dying in front of him in the hands of his own brother…

"Wrong illusion, brother." She said with a smirk, that night was no longer his darkest fear, seeing the look of horror in his parents' face, only made him more determined to avenge them.

He activated his Sharingan as well, dispelling the illusion. "Besides, I'm doing this for them." He said as he remembered his few fond memories of his family.

"Tonight, you die." Sasuke said as he took out his chokuto, and you could hear its metallic sound as he drew the sword.

"CHIDORI NAGASHI!" he shouted as the sound of a thousand chirping birds filled the cave and the electric-blue lighting chakra enveloped his body. He charged most of his chakra into his chokuto, and began running towards his brother.

"Too hasty little brother." Itachi said calmly as he avoided each of Sasuke's attacks. He saw the look of hatred in his little brother's eyes. It reminded him of himself actually.

"You're not getting my sharingan that easy." Sasuke said, throwing a number of lightning chakra needles at his brother. Several of them landed a hit. "I see you're going blind." Sasuke said, catching his breath. Looking at the chakra needles that impaled his brother, the thought _"The sharingan really does have flaws." _Crossed his mind.

He needed amazing speed to pull that one off. He then knew that he needed a better plan to defeat his brother. Fighting like this, it could be anyone's game. "CHIDORI!" he said, and the lightning chakra focused on his had, he went for the cave's ceiling, and it exploded, revealing the dark sky above.

"What was that for brother? You won't be able to see the view anyway." Itachi said, looking at the dark clouds looming above him in the sky.

"It wasn't for the view." Sasuke said, as he once again charged at his brother with his sword, and threw chakra needles alternately.

"I'm getting tired of playing with you Sasuke." Itachi said. "Amaterasu."

A pillar of black flame then immediately appears right below Sasuke, who barely manages to escape by jumping and concentrating his sharingan on the pillar, opening a space-time warp similar to what he has seen Kakashi use, sending the flames to another dimension.

When he sees his brother again, he notices a red liquid flowing from his eyes. His eyes were bleeding.

"You rely too much on the mangekyo, brother." Sasuke said. "It will be your downfall."

"Amaterasu!" Itachi says again, and balls of black flame make their way to Sasuke.

Sasuke screamed of pain as he felt the intense heat from the flames touch his skin.

"Now brother, give me your eyes." Itachi said, his eyes seemed to bleed more profusely than before.

"Never." Sasuke once again throws chakra needles at his brother.

"Have it your way then. Susanoo." Itachi muttered. He fell to the ground on his knees at the sheer amount of chakra and force it takes to perform the technique.

A gigantic ethereal being is summoned, and begins to attack Sasuke.

"Not another one of your illusions." Sasuke said.

"This one isn't an illusion, brother."

Sasuke's eyes grew wide as the being suddenly hit him in the gut. The pain was almost unbearable. He was losing chakra, and was getting tired.

Soon enough, it began to rain. The blood on both their bodies was slowly being washed off.

Sasuke found the strength to talk. "Are the sharingan's flaws unavoidable?"

"Yes. From the moment you acquire them, your eyes begin to fall into darkness. The process hastens with every use." Itachi answered from behind the creature he summoned.

"And, the only cure?" He asked.

"To replace your eye's with that of your siblings."

"You know what's gonna happen, don't you?" Sasuke said with a voice filled with hatred as he was catching his breath.

"Only one of us lives tonight…" Itachi muttered, "…and gets the sharingan."

"Exactly, and I promise you. It won't be me who dies." Sasuke muttered as he tried to stand up, he desperately needed chakra, and the only choice he had left was the cursed seal Orochimaru had put on him.

Seeing that this was his last chance at ever killing his brother, he decided to use the seal, even if using it again might lead to his own death, because of the sheer exhaustion he already felt.

The creature Itachi summoned began attacking Sasuke again. He came to the conclusion that he could never be able to kill the creature, but could get rid of it once he killed his brother.

Seeing the thunder and lightning at the sky above them, with his last hopes, and his last resort, he activated the cursed seal, and he felt as if his own soul was being burned, but he needed to do this, it was the only way. Sasuke muttered "Kirin". A bolt of lightning then surged down from the heavens, and made contact with his already weakened brother. The ethereal creature that was summoned then disappeared.

Sasuke nearly collapsed as he forced the cursed seal to subside. He could no longer stand, so he resorted to crawling on the now wet cave floor, towards his brother who was motionlessly lying on the ground.

"Why did you… why did you kill everyone?" Sasuke muttered, short of breath. He already heard the explanation before, but a small part of him believed there was something more, he wanted to believe that his brother had a better purpose for killing the clan, that it just hadn't been for the Mangekyo, not just to test his power.

"I already told you." Itachi replied emotionlessly.

"Who is Madara Uchiha?" Sasuke demanded, angered at the fact that his brother was still cold and calm.

"He was my teacher, and he and I were the cause of the Uchiha massacre. He told me to leave you alive, so that one day I may take your eyes for my own, since it was the only way I could retain my eyesight 

and still use the Mangekyo." Itachi answered, he coughed out blood, and his eyes were as red as the blood that flowed from them.

"I see." Sasuke said. So there was another person in this plan. Whether he would decide on killing this person as well, he didn't think about at the moment.

"I thought you would torture me and kill me slowly and painfully…" Itachi said.

"I will never be like you brother… I don't want to be." Sasuke retorted. "Besides, this makes sure you die anyway."

"That is true." He said, and then began a technique that transferred his Mangekyo into Sasuke, who then receives the eyes, and all of Itachi's abilities with it.

Sasuke felt an unbearable pain in his eyes and began to cover them immediately. "What are you trying to do?!" Sasuke demanded, the pain was excruciating.

"Use the Mangekyo well, little brother." Itachi had just surrendered his eyes, and his abilities to Sasuke. He didn't know why he did exactly, maybe he did still feel like a brother to him, or maybe he had given his brother those abilities in hopes that he would continue to avenge the clan, and kill Madara. Just as well, these were the last words of his life.

"Goodbye brother." Sasuke said, looking at his brother's now dead body. There was a strange feeling that he felt as he saw the expression on his brother's face. He was smiling. Sure, you could hardly see it, but it wasn't a menacing evil smile, but a real one.

"_I did it father. I hope you're finally proud." _He thought, his life as an avenger was finally over. But his own life might just be. With so little energy left, the cursed seal provided his much needed chakra to perform his final technique, but it also left him extremely weakened in the process.

Sasuke thought that he would be happier seeing his brother dead. But why doesn't he feel anything like it? Killing his brother, the supposed reason why Sasuke was ever alive, felt like the biggest regret he had ever felt in his life.

He just succeeded in killing what was left of his entire clan, himself included. He would be the last Uchiha. He didn't think he still had the strength to carry on… he was too exhausted.

"_I thought killing you would finally make me happy…" _he thought.

The few things he felt the slightest feeling of gladness was the fact that there would no longer be any killings for the clan's sharingan eyes. No more death, no more siblings that killed each other, no more bloodshed. Second, he could no longer take the lives of the people close to him, well, what's left of them anyway.

Tears started to flow from his eyes, but you couldn't distinguish them from the drops of rain that fell from the sky. He just gazed at his brother's now lifeless body, and thought of how much he longed to 

see his mother and father again, even if it was only in the afterlife. He could maybe feel once again what having a family was like. Maybe, he would also feel love from them, maybe, even from his brother.

He regretted living such an empty life… full of anger… of hatred… of nothing but revenge. Fears that he had just realized suddenly came up… he would die… right after killing his own brother… he would be remembered as the man who ended the Uchiha bloodline… the man that kept the clan's secrets from the world. He dreaded the fact that no one might even be at his funeral… he would be buried a traitor… no one would visit his grave… he would die a hated man…

He collapsed in the wet dirt, and closed his eyes, waiting for the darkness to consume him… longing to see his family again…

* * *

:This was actually my favorite chapter to write… even if I suck at fight scenes.

:When I first thought out this fanfic, I was gonna kill of Sakura, and Sasuke was to die after he killed Itachi... but I think this one suits the story's title more... Fear... and... Regret... I got the name from My Chemical Romance, they were the names of the two people next to 'mother war' in the Welcome to the Black Parade video... hehe... just thought to let you guys know.

:Thanks for reading! Please Review!


	18. Chapter 18: Awakenings

:I haven't actually read the manga yet… but I hear loads of cool stuff is about to happen! Haha!

:Okay… chapter 18… let's see if this really turns out to be a tragedy…

* * *

**Chapter 18: Awakenings**

_**As Sasuke collapsed, Konoha hospital…**_

"SASUKE-KUN!!" a loud cry was heard all over the hospital, causing a few people to drop trays and spill their coffee.

Ino almost dropped the flower vase she was holding as she visited Sakura at the hospital. "Oh my god! Sakura! You're finally awake!" she jumped and hugged her no-longer-comatose friend on her hospital bed.

"Ino… how did I get here? WHERE'S SASUKE-KUN?" She said, panicking.

"You…you've been comatose for more than a month." She said with a small smile, happy her friend was finally conscious. "Sasuke… he's gone."

"What do you mean he's gone?" Sakura said with a look of worry in her face.

"He went off to kill Itachi." She said plainly.

"WHAT!?" Sakura said in disbelief.

"He went off to kill his brother… Kakashi-sensei said that we should just let him. He stopped Naruto from going after him."

"Kakashi-sensei… Naruto… Sasuke-kun…" Sakura said, tears rolling down her face.

"It's okay Sakura. Everyone's fine. Just fine." Ino said reassuringly.

"How long has Sasuke-kun been gone?"

"He went off as soon as you were here at the hospital… he doesn't even know if you're alive."

"Ino… what if… what if he's… dead?" Sakura said, crying.

"Don't worry… he can take care of himself… besides, you've gotta stay strong, you're carrying the future of his clan after all…" Ino said, smiling.

"The future of his clan…" Sakura said, thinking. "Don't tell me I'm—."

"You're pregnant Sakura." Ino confirmed.

"Oh my…" Sakura said excitedly. She remembered that night at the Uchiha compound, before they went on the mission to rescue Hinata. Sasuke went to her room after they talked, it was a beautiful night.

"Congratulations!" Ino said, smiling. She was happy for her friend, but still, she couldn't help but feel jealous of her, and how happy she must feel.

"Thank you so much Ino." Sakura said.

"What for?" Ino said, puzzled.

"Everything." Sakura said.

"What are best friends for?" Ino said, smiling.

Sakura just smiled.

"So… can you remember anything while you were comatose?" Ino said worriedly. She actually doesn't want her to know about her problems, not anymore.

"Nothing really. Just darkness, and terror, and blood, and… death." Sakura said sadly. Those visions from Itachi were ones she doesn't hope to remember. They were very horrifying and disturbing.

"Oh. Sorry I asked." Ino said.

"Nah, it's all in the past now." Sakura said. "Why do you think I woke up now? You think Sasuke killed him already?" she said with curiosity in her voice.

"I'm not sure… maybe." She looked at the flowers on Sakura's bedside table. "Sakura… I-I wanted to tell you something." Ino said with a serious look on her face. "But you have to promise me that you won't stop me."

"Huh? Why… what is it?" Sakura said, puzzled.

"I'm leaving Konoha, as soon as possible." Ino said.

"Why?" she said with a look of both worry and confusion.

Ino didn't answer, instead she was looking at the blue sky outside…

_**Yesterday, at Ichiraku's Ramen Bar… **_

"Kiba… I-I wanted to tell you that—." Ino said from behind the seat Kiba was in. She had finally mustered up the courage to say 'yes', she held the diamond ring in her hand.

To her horror, he saw another girl in his arms… long blonde hair, blue eyes… just like her.

"Oh no…" Ino said, tears now flowing from her eyes. She ran quickly to the exit.

"Ino! Ino wait!" Kiba said, standing up and letting go of the girl. He ran after her.

"I can't believe he would do this…" she told herself, running, not sure where, but anywhere away from Kiba… anywhere away from that girl.

"INO!" Kiba said, grasping her hand. They had reached the road leading to the village's exit.

"Kiba… I…" Ino said. "I'm so sorry."

"I should be the one who's sorry." Kiba said, pulling her into his arms.

"No, Kiba…" she said, and took his hands into hers, still crying.

"Ino… I-I-." Kiba said.

Ino let go of his hands, and kissed him, ever so softly on the cheek, right where his fang mark was. "Goodbye Kiba." Ino whispered in his ear. She leaped to the trees and disappeared.

"Ino…" Kiba said, and looked at his hand. There was the ring. "I'm so… so sorry…" He said, and his eyes filled with his own tears.

Ino ran for home, anywhere but here… _"If I had just said yes… this never would have happened… you never would have looked at that girl." _she thought, as tears continued to fall down her cheeks. _"This is all my fault."_ She cried even more.

It was a night both of them would always remember, how wrong everything was, how right it felt when they were in each other's arms, how they both thought the other didn't love the other. How messed up the whole thing was, that Ino decided to just stop and avoid it. How fear got the better of both of them, and how regret was the most prominent feeling of the night.

_**The present, at Sakura's hospital room…**_

"Ino? Hey, Ino-pig!" Sakura said, it had been a few minutes of silence already.

"Huh?" Ino snapped out of the memory and got back to reality.

"Why are you leaving?" Sakura said.

"Oh… nothing… there's this training thing, for the ANBU… my family's mind techniques are perfect for intelligence gathering and that stuff…" Ino said. It wasn't all a lie. It was true, but just partially. She was offered the training weeks ago, but was still having second thoughts on it, but this time, she was sure.

"Hmm…When are you going then?" Sakura asked.

"I'm not sure, they haven't told me everything yet, but I expect to be leaving by the end of the week… Anyway, what are you naming the kid?" she said to change the subject.

"Oh… that depends… is he a he or a she?" Sakura said, smiling, and rubbing her belly.

"It's too early to find out… but I'll bet on a boy." Ino said.

"Hmm… I guess I'll let Sasuke-kun name him then…" Sakura said wishfully. "I hope he gets back soon though…"

"I'm sure he'll be fine." Ino said.

_**At the same moment, at the Akatsuki hideout at Amegakure…**_

Shikamaru and Temari had scratches all over their bodies, clearly from a hard fight, and they heard the explosion in the tunnels and decided to check it out, Temari's eyes widened in shock at what she saw at the now roofless cave centre.

"Shika-kun! Look!" Temari said, pointing at two bodies on the far side of the cave.

"What is it now?" Shikamaru said, and rushed towards the two once he realized what they were.

"It's… Sasuke Uchiha?" Temari said, as she went for a closer look.

Shikamaru's eyes widened as he saw everything before him… the cave's roof had been blown, and the centre of the hideout was like one huge crater… a great battle had been fought here… and there were two bodies… one in an Akatsuki cloak… he recognized to be Itachi Uchiha, who was certainly dead. There were black marks on the floor where the body lay, like lightning struck, and the water from the rain had blood mixed in it, probably from both bodies… then, there was Sasuke, unconscious and his clothes stained by blood.

After using his supposedly brilliant brain in analyzing their present predicament, he came to a conclusion. "Temari… let's take this one with us. He might still be alive." Shikamaru said, and carried Sasuke's body. _"He's killed his brother already? But he used up so much chakra, he must be extremely exhausted." _ He thought, glaring at the Uchiha.

Shikamaru was surprised when Sasuke coughed out blood and muttered: "Take him… with you." But was out cold again shortly after.

"How troublesome." Shikamaru said, rolling his eyes. "You heard him…" he looked questioningly at Temari.

"Oh fine, fine." The blonde sand kunoichi looked worriedly at Itachi's body. "You sure he's dead?"

"Yeah. Don't worry. I don't think he'll be killing anyone anymore." Shikamaru said, and began the journey to Konohagakure.

"If you're sure." Temari said, carried Itachi's body and followed.

_**That night at Konoha hospital…**_

"Sakura-chan!! You're awake!!" Naruto exclaimed as he entered her hospital room.

"Yeah. I'm feeling pretty good too." She said with a smile. "So… what happened after our mission?"

"Well… uhm… I got Hina-chan home, and her dad was… uhm, relieved to see her." Naruto said. "It didn't look like he was too happy, but… I don't know." He said with a confused look plastered on his face.

"I see." Sakura said. _"I guess her father still hasn't changed." _She thought.

Naruto began to speak again. "Uhm… Sakura-chan… Sasuke…uhm…"

"It's fine Naruto. Ino told me already." She said with a reassuring smile.

"I'm really sorry… Kakashi-sensei told me not to…" Naruto said in a low voice.

"I understand. Don't worry about it." She said.

Suddenly, Ino entered the room.

"Sakura… Naruto… Sasuke's here!" She said, catching her breath.

* * *

:Well… there's chapter 18 for yah, whoever is still reading this thing… it isn't so tragic after all... well in Sasuke and Sakura's case at least.

:Thanks for reading!! Please review.


	19. Chapter 19: The Aftermath of Revenge

:Thanks to all the reviews, alerts, and favorites that this story has ever recieved!!

:I don't own Naruto… and it would never be as amazing as it is today if I did.

:Okay, Chapter 19… get ready, this might be too...uhm...happy...

* * *

**Chapter 19: The Aftermath of Revenge **

"Sasuke!!" Naruto and Sakura screamed aloud, running through the hospital's halls, until suddenly they realized that they both had no idea where Sasuke was in the hospital.

"Hmph. You guys finally notice." A tired and out-of-breath Ino said, crossing her arms behind them.

"Ehe…uhm, where is Sasuke,exactly?" Naruto said, scratching his head.

"Come on, follow me." Ino said with a sigh. After training as a medic-nin for a short while, she's come to know the ins-and-outs of the hospital already. But, she only stayed in the training for a few months, realizing that it was not her calling, it was Sakura's.

The three soon find themselves in an emergency room, filled with medics, the Godaime, and Shizune.

"Sasuke-kun! Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said as she rushed to his bed looking horrified at his wounds, and began to heal him immediately.

"Sakura! We've got it under control! Don't waste your chakra, he'll live." Shizune said.

"He will?" Sakura said as she wiped the tears off her face. Tsunade was a real miracle worker.

Sasuke stirred and opened his eyes. "I'll be fine." He said weakly.

"Oh Sasuke-kun!" She exclaimed as she tightly hugged Sasuke on his hospital bed.

"Uhm…Sakura?" he said with a small cough.

"Hmmm?" she said, smiling, still hugging him tightly.

"Your…uhm." Sasuke said, she was wrapping her arms around him tightly –really tightly- and after all those wounds and burns, it hurt. But he really didn't want her to let go either.

"Let go of him, his wounds are bleeding." Ino said, rolling her eyes. Naruto was doing the same.

"Oh, sorry Sasuke-kun." Sakura said, blushing and began healing the wounds she made bleed.

"Now, get some rest, BOTH of you. You'll be fine in a few days." Tsunade said from behind them, with Shizune and the medics closing the door behind her. Though she did manage to tell Ino she would be leaving for her training mission tomorrow.

Ino just smiled at the sight of Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto. _"They've got everything." _She thought.

"Uhm, I gotta go check on Shikamaru and Temari." Ino said, smiling at the trio, and closing the door behind her.

"What happened to them?" Sakura said, confused.

"They brought me here. I have no clue what they were doing in an Akatsuki hideout though." Sasuke said, laying back down and closing his eyes to get some rest.

_**Meanwhile…**_

"What the heck were you doing there!?" Ino said to a tired Shikamaru, who a nurse was currently tying up bandages for.

"I had to get revenge for what they did to Asuma-sensei." He said plainly.

"He's my sensei too! And Chouji's!" Ino said angrily, mainly because she wanted a part in the revenge too. "Why did you have to bring Temari into this? She's got nothing to do with this! She could've gotten hurt or something? Do you have any idea what Gaara the Kazekage would do to you if you got his sister killed? You could've ended Konoha's alliance with suna in one fell swoop!"

"It was her choice troublesome woman! I wanted to go alone!" Shikamaru said, raising his voice. The nurse tying up his bandages was startled.

"Why? Didn't you even consider that me and Chouji would've loved to go kill that damn Akatsuki for killing Asuma-sensei?! Hm?" Ino said with a look of pure annoyance and anger on her face.

However, Shikamaru's face had a totally different emotion. One of pure confusion that just screamed the words: 'how troublesome'. _"How the heck should I know you would like to get revenge too, I thought this would be a lecture on 'how revenge isn't worth it' and all that shit? And since when did she care about Konoha-Suna politics? There must be something wrong.Oh man this is so trouble some. What a drag." _The Nara rolled his eyes and said. "Is there a problem Ino?"

"Oh, there's no problem! Everything's just fine!" sarcasm smothered every word. "I just didn't get back at the fucker who ruined my life, that's all."

"Ruined your life? How? I mean, Asuma-sensei was like a second father to us, sure. But him dying, it's hardly the end of the world. Everyone dies, eventually. It's the life of a shinobi, and there are risks you know?" Shikamaru said, confused. _"So, this must be the reason why she's been acting all weird and depressed this moth." _

"You don't know half of the story Shikamaru." Ino said, sighing. After Asuma died, she almost lost everything. No one to keep her company and give her advice. Shikamaru was there, but he's engaged to Temari, which took too much of his time. Chouji couldn't really say much since his mouth was filled with food all the time, her mother was too busy at the shop, and her dad was on yet another long mission, Sakura was in a coma, and she couldn't even look at Kiba after what happened. Now she would leave Konoha for god knows how long, and Sakura was living the life of her dreams! Sure, they were best 

friends and she was happy for her and all that, but she couldn't help but feel jealous how annoyingly perfect her pink-haired friend's life was going to be. _"Maybe leaving Konoha and starting fresh doesn't sound too bad after all." _Ino kept telling herself.

"You are so troublesome." He said, rolling his eyes.

Ino just closed the door behind her, heading home to pack.

_**Later that night…**_

"So has anyone figured out what Shikamaru and Temari were doing in the Akatsuki hideout?" Naruto asked.

"They were there for the same reason as Sasuke apparently." Kakashi suddenly appeared before his former pupils in a puff of smoke.

Naruto and Sakura nearly jumped in shock, but Sasuke only let out a "Hn." And a smug smile was on his face.

"Don't you ever use doors Kakashi-sensei? You nearly gave Sasuke here a heart attack!" Naruto said, with a cocky grin.

"It's more fun using a jutsu. Besides, you should've seen the look on YOUR face." Kakashi said, smiling through his mask. "Sasuke sensed my chakra signature even before I was at the door, it was your heart attack Naruto." He chuckled from behind another copy of the Icha-icha.

"Well, fine. Get to the point of what Nara and Temari were doing already." Naruto said, flushing with embarrassment.

"They were after my brother?" Sasuke asked. Well, he was in the Akatsuki, but what ever did he do to them?

"Not exactly." Kakashi replied.

"It's revenge then… for who?" Sasuke said.

"Asuma-sensei." Sakura remembered how sad Ino had been when she told her the news earlier.

"Exactly, we don't exactly know how he managed to kill Hidan though." Kakashi said.

"I see." Sasuke said. "Wait! Where's my brother's body? I asked them to bring it with them."

"In the morgue." Naruto said blankly. "Why'd you want it anyway?"

"Sharingan transplant?" Sakura said.

"No. I want him buried in the Uchiha compound." He replied plainly.

Everyone had a look of surprise on their face, well, except Kakashi, who did a good job of hiding it behind his mask. Why would Sasuke want his brother buried in the same place with the clan he killed?

"Huh? I though you-." Naruto said.

"I don't even feel half as happy as I thought I would." Sasuke said with a sigh. "I almost feel sorry for killing him, especially after I realized that he saved my life." It was hardly the sweet revenge he always dreamed of. He thought that killing Itachi would make him the happiest man alive, sadly, it didn't even make him the least bit happy.

"He-he saved your life?" Sakura said in disbelief, remembering the horrific visions she had in her coma.

"Yes." He replied. "He didn't kill me back then, even if he knew he could."

"I thought he only wanted your eyes for his own?" Sakura asked.

"Yes, but still, he let me live. It wasn't much of a life I have to admit, but a life nonetheless." He said sighing. "When I fought him again, it was like he let me win. I don't know why, it might be second thoughts, or maybe even pity. But I think he wants me to get him a revenge of his own. Maybe he thought he wouldn't be able to kill Madara, so he gave me his eyes and abilities, maybe hoping I could kill Madara for him someday."

Naruto and Sakura opened their mouths to speak, but no words came out.

"I never wanted too be like him. But it turns out I'm more like him than ever." Sasuke continued.

"And why is that?" Kakashi said from behind the Icha-icha book.

"I wiped out my clan. As of now, I'm the only Uchiha that's sure to be alive, I'm not really sure if Madara still is though." He said, disappointed at himself. "I almost ended the ENTIRE clan too, if it hadn't been for Nara and that Suna Kunoichi."

"No you didn't." Sakura said with a kind smile, holding her stomach.

"What do you mean? Itachi doesn't have kids, well, none that I know of but-." His eyes widened as he finally caught on. "Your-?" Sasuke said.

"Your clan's gonna be restored, and you're gonna be a father." Sakura said, with a cheery smile.

Sasuke's onyx eyes lit up and he 'hn-ed' as Sasuke-like as ever. A smug smile on his face as visions of 'the new Uchiha clan' made their way to his head. A little boy learning the family's signature fire jutsus, activating the sharingan for the first time, but then, he hit a road block. What if he had more kids that end up killing each other for the Sharingan? Oh well, he'd think of that as soon as the marriage contracts were signed.

* * *

:It isn't even close to how tragic it was gonna be when I started writing! I guess I didn't have it in me to turn this into a total tragedy... anyway, I'm happy with this almost-happy ending...

:PLEASE REVIEW! THANKS FOR READING! The last chapter is coming up!


	20. Chapter 20: The Times Ahead

:Last chappie! I'm happy I actually finished it…

:I still don't own Naruto… and I'm okay with that.

:On to Chapter 20… It's the end of the road!

* * *

**Chapter 20: The Times Ahead**

"I never really thought about what I'm going to do after getting my revenge and restoring my clan, everything I planned for just stops there." Sasuke said, it was true, but he was happy, he was free. "I've got no idea what to do with my life." He remembered something that Kakashi told him before he left. "Kakashi-sensei, does your offer still stand?" referring to a place in the ANBU ranks he offered him.

"Of course, but you'll be working for me." The masked jonin said. He drew confused looks from his former students. "I've stopped teaching genin teams. It was too, uhm, in the words of a certain Nara, 'troublesome'. The Hokage offered me a job in the ANBU, and it's hard looking for capable assassin-type shinobi for a squad. I thought Sasuke here fit the bill quite nicely." His smile showing from his one exposed eye.

"Perfect, I'll take it." Sasuke said. "Are we going after the Akatsuki?"

"Most likely." Kakashi said. "Anyone in mind?"

"I think one of them knows something about Madara. I'm gonna consider my brother's suggestion. He wasn't much of a brother really, but still, he is an Uchiha." Sasuke replied. "And I would love to kill the one who helped murder my family."

"Wait Sasuke-kun. You can't possibly think of going after him RIGHT NOW right?" Sakura said, with a worried look on her face. "I mean, you need to rest and heal, and, and…"

"Of course not. I'm not going to leave for too long. Not until my son is born." Sasuke said, smiling.

"Uhm… uhm… I-I." Sakura wondered why no word of marriage was coming out of his mouth, he didn't think she was just a brood-mare or something, or what if he just didn't want to say the obvious?

"You will marry me, right?" Sasuke said, as if answering her unspoken question.

"Of course, why wouldn't I? I'd love to marry you." Sakura said, relieved.

"Good, because the marriage contracts are already being signed." Sasuke replied.

"But, but, when did you-?" Sakura said.

"I asked Ino to go make them for us. She looked pretty happy, and she was nice enough to agree, but she looked like she was about to cry when she closed the door." Sasuke answered.

"Oh okay." Sakura said. Ino must have sent the contracts after she checked on Temari and Shikamaru. "Wait, wait, your SON? When did we tell you it was gonna be a boy?" She didn't even know that herself.

"It just has to be." Sasuke said with a smug smile.

_**At Hokage tower…**_

"Come in Ino." The Godaime said.

Ino entered the door carrying papers. "Thank you Hokage-sama."

"Since when did you become a messenger?" Tsunade said, looking at the papers in the blonde's hands dreading the fact of even more paperwork.

"This was from Sasuke." Ino said, handing the paper to her.

"Oh." Tsunade said, taking a look at the paper and reading through it. "Finally!" she exclaimed as she finished reading the marriage contract.

"Uhm… Hokage-sama? Can I ask a favor from you?" Ino said.

"Is this about your training mission?" Tsunade eyed the blonde-haired kunoichi warily. "It's fine if you don't want to accept it. You have to be really dedicated, and I just can't send you out there."

"No, Hokage-sama. I'm still going on the training mission. I really want to improve. It's just that with Sakura getting married and all, and she asked me to be there." She said. "We've been friends for so long and she'll kill me if I miss her wedding."

"Of course. Her wedding is next week. I guess you'd do the same to her on your wedding?" she chuckled. "I'll inform Anko to wait just a week longer." Tsunade said, smiling.

Ino froze at the words 'your wedding' and dreams of what-could-have-been flashed through her mind. Then she snapped back into reality and said: "Anko? I'm training under Anko Mitarashi?" remembering the purple haired kunoichi that took charge of the second stage of the chunin exams, she had a habit of calling everyone 'maggot'. Her training mission would be harder than she thought. She had to get used to a boot camp type trainer.

_**The next week…**_

Sakura was putting on her red wedding kimono, which had cherry-blossoms on it. With the help of Ino of course.

"I'm so nervous." She muttered.

"Everyone gets nervous on their wedding day." Ino said, sighing as she fixed Sakura's hair. _"Not that I've ever experienced this really, it's what my mother tells me though." _She thought sarcastically.

"You look sad Ino, is there a problem?" Sakura said with a worried look.

"No, no. I'm fine really." She lied.

"Well then get a smile on that face of yours. I'm sure Kiba will be very happy to see how pretty you are in that kimono." Sakura said with a giggle. Eyeing Ino's purple kimono.

"Let's not talk about that. This is your wedding." Ino said, forcing a small smile on her face. "You ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be." She answered with a smile.

"Lets go then." Ino said as she opened the door.

Only their closest friends and family were there for the wedding. Sasuke smiled as they met at the end of the aisle. It was a beautiful wedding.

The reception was less formal though, food and sake for everyone. Almost everyone showed up for it.

"To the new Uchiha clan!" everyone said for the toast.

Everyone had a great time… well, almost.

"I have to go Sakura." Ino said with a sad smile.

"Thanks for everything Ino." She replied and gave a hug to her friend.

"No problem." Ino said, and she made her way to her house.

On her way out of the garden though, she saw Kiba, downing glass after glass of sake. She hurried of and packed her bags, and left Konoha to train with Anko the next day.

...--…--…--…--…--…--…--…--….--…--…--…--…--…--…--…--…--…--…--…--…--…--…--…--…--…--

Eight months later, Sakura's baby was born. Tsunade was happy to win the betting pool guessing the child's gender. It was, like Sasuke said, a boy. To Shizune's dismay, the Godaime spent all the money on a month's supply of sake. They named him after Sasuke's father, Fugaku Uchiha. He was seen as a younger version of Sasuke in every way, except for the great strength, green eyes and chakra control he inherited from his mother.

Sasuke soon became Konoha's second-best assassin, the first being Kakashi himself, using his brother's techniques and abilities. When he fought against Madara, he was shocked at the facts he told him about his brother, and how he did everything to protect his little brother. Sasuke was glad that he had Itachi buried with the clan, concluding that he wasn't such a bad brother after all. He only regrets that his brother had to die. When not on a mission, he spends his time in Konoha, shaping up Fugaku for the life of a shinobi, and he also often spars with Naruto, who annoys him, convincing them to fight. The score stands with Sasuke in the lead by 1.

Sakura was still Konoha's best medic-nin, second only to the Godaime, who still trained her. She and Sasuke didn't try getting more children until Sasuke found a way for the future Uchihas to not end up killing each other for the Mangekyo's final secret. She was content taking care of her son, and doing her job. She constantly worries about Ino and how she's doing on her mission.

Kiba was training hard as a tracker/hunter nin. He was always busy training, but everyone concluded that sake was now his favorite drink, much to the dismay of her sister, Hana, and his best friend, Shino.

Nobody heard from Ino since she left the village on her training mission. The flower shop her family owned was never quite the same again.

Naruto was still set on his dream of becoming Hokage, and still spars with Sasuke whenever he sees the opportunity. That rivalry and will to outdo each other was still there after all these years. He also goes to Ichiraku's for ramen every single day, if possible.

Hinata was getting frustrated at Naruto for being blind of her hints of wanting to get married, but was too shy to ask him herself. She just settles with going out with him for ramen and helping him train.

Shikamaru and Temari got married a month after Sasuke and Sakura, solidifying Konoha's alliance with Suna even more. Shikamaru, when asked how married life is for him, answers with one word: 'troublesome'.

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:Well, that's it… for now! I'm continuing on the Kiba-Ino part of the story. I'm not sure on a title yet, but the first chapter is waiting to be posted.

:This really turned out happier than when I started the story. It was really meant to be a tragedy, with Sakura dying in the tunnels on their mission to save Hinata, and Sasuke dying after he gets his revenge from Itachi... but I'm actually happier with this!!

:THANKS FOR READING!!


	21. Epilogue: A Dinner to Remember

:Hey guys! I think this fic needed something… then an epilogue came to mind… so, here it is.

:Enjoy! Hahaha. Still don't own Naruto!

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**Epilogue: A Dinner to Remember**

"_He's becoming more and more like Kakashi-sensei everyday…" _ Sakura thought, looking out the window of the Uchiha compound, staring at her husband who has been standing by the graves of the former Uchiha for more than an hour already. He seems to be thinking deeply of something, or someone, eying the grave of his brother, Itachi, but never shedding a tear. Sakura went back to her dinner preparations, and went out to call her son, the now four year old Fugaku Uchiha, named after Sasuke's father. He looking at the boy was like looking at a little Sasuke. Except, for the eyes. His eyes were not dark and distant like his father's. His eyes were deep and green, like Sakura's.

"Come on Fugaku… help me set the table." She said to her son. "We have guests tonight."

"Later mom! I've got to show dad that I can do the Shishi Rendan! I want him to be proud of me!" The boy replied with a smile from the yard outside their house, he's been training for hours already. "Can I please help you later?"

"Okay then, but don't overdo it." Sakura said to her son with a smile.

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"I never thought this would be one of my habits that you would catch Sasuke." A voice from behind him said.

"Kakashi-sensei?" he said, looking at his silver-haired former teacher.

"I haven't been your sensei for a few years now. 'senpai' is fine, we're on the same squad, I don't really remember you calling me sensei even when I still was." The masked jonin replied.

"Yeah, well, I guess I'm making up for lost time." He answered. "I've been thinking…"

"I've spent hours and hours in front of a grave Sasuke. I know what it's like." He said.

"I remember the last words you said to me before I first left the village. You said that revenge would never make me happy." He said in a low voice, deep in thought, eyeing his brother's grave. "You were right. His death didn't make me happy. I really thought that I would be the happiest person on earth when I stood over his corpse, but I was very wrong." He sighed. "But I felt like I would never get the chance to be truly happy if he lived, he would always be the dark shadow looming over me, and haunting me, preventing me from feeling happy, making me hurt everyone that cared for me. It was just like he said to me, he was the barrier I must overcome. But I hope it didn't have to be this way."

"You regret killing your brother." Kakashi said, putting his right hand on Sasuke's left shoulder.

"I do. When I fought him, it was like he let me win." He said. "But now, I see that my life as an avenger isn't quite over yet. Madara is still alive. Maybe if he wasn't my brother's teacher, maybe Itachi wouldn't have massacred the clan, maybe he was just another victim, maybe, I could've had a real brother." A small smile then mad its way to his face. "Actually, you were the closest thing to a big-brother I ever had."

"Wow. I never expected you to admit that." He replied. "Really though, I see somewhat a younger copy of me when I see you."

"Really?" Sasuke asked curiously.

"Sometimes." The masked jonin replied. "Looks like we'll be hunting Akatsuki in the morning." Kakashi said, a smile showing on his one eye.

"It does." He said, returning his former sensei's smile. "Well, we better get to the house. Sakura will be angry if I'm late again."

"Don't tell me you've caught my habit of being late too?" Kakashi said with a chuckle.

"Maybe I did." He replied, as they began to walk to his house at the Uchiha compound.

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"You're overdoing it Fugaku." Neji said. "Try to control your chakra more, and time the release. It'll make your rendan more effective. Don't just keep kicking needlessly, and take a break once in a while ok?"

"Thank you. Neji-san." Fugaku replied, landing another kick on the training dummy.

"You're putting too much pressure on the kid Sasuke." Neji said as Sasuke arrived in the lawn.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke said as his gaze landed on his son. "I'm not pressuring him to do anything."

"You think you don't. But being named after your father and all, and being the future of the Uchiha legacy is a lot to carry for a kid. He's trying to make you proud of him." Neji said. "My eyes have more insight than yours."

"I just want him to be strong." Sasuke said. "He'll be going to the academy soon. I want him to be ready."

"The Shishi Rendan at his age?" Neji said. "You learned that when you were twelve."

"It's a very basic jutsu." He replied. "I want him to be the best. I want him to be able to protect everyone… I want him, to be able to… do what I couldn't."

"That's a lot of pressure to put on a kid Sasuke." Kakashi said. "I graduated form the academy at five and became chunin at six. But times were easier then. You're already almost better than me. You're stronger than me when I was your age anyway."

"This isn't about me." He said. "This is about the future of my clan. I know what I'm doing, and I won't let my son get hurt. I'm just helping him get the step forward that I never got. My brother got all the attention, and the special training with it. I'm focusing all my attention on Fugaku, so he doesn't have to feel subordinate like I did. I'm going to teach him everything I know."

"It's a bit too early for that don't you think?" Kakashi said. "Won't your other future children feel subordinate if Fugaku gets all the attention?"

"The fate of being firstborn." Neji said with a sigh. "It's like a curse."

"Don't worry about that. I'm not having more children until I figure out how to prevent another massacre." Sasuke said in a serious voice. "I don't want the same thing to happen again, over a pair of eyes. I don't simply want to restore my clan, I want to improve it."

"I see." Neji said. "Well, let's go inside. Sakura, Tenten and the others are waiting."

"Naruto and Hinata's here too. Did we invite the whole village for dinner?" Sasuke said. "It's only Fugaku's fourth birthday."

"Well, at least it'll be more interesting than the past few months." Kakashi said. "Since the Akatsuki went hiding, there hasn't been much action, even reading the Icha-icha is getting boring."

"Yeah. It has been a pretty boring four years." Sasuke and Neji said as they all entered the house.

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"Your so lucky Sakura." Tenten said while helping her pink-haired friend set the table.

"Why?" she asked.

"I've wanted to have kids ever since Neji and I got married. But the stupid Hyuga traditions are always getting in the way. Our firstborn would be taken away from us." Tenten said with a sigh.

"Raising kids isn't exactly that easy! I've already got one, and here's another one on the way…" Temari said, rubbing her belly. "…I can't imagine where my little girl gets her energy from. Her father certainly doesn't have much!"

They all laughed.

"Having even one kid is enough." Sakura said. "Sasuke's putting a lot of pressure on Fugaku. But I think he's just scared for him. He's really proud of him. No matter how he shows it."

"Well, at least you're married already." Hinata said, putting the plates on the table.

"Naruto's still clueless isn't he?" Sakura said. "Don't worry, he'll figure it out."

"I hope so." Hinata said in a small voice.

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"Happy Birthday Fugaku!" Everyone exclaimed. They began to eat their dinner.

"Your not the type to be late for a party Kiba." Naruto said.

"Let's just say I had to get rid of someone on the way here." The Inuzuka replied.

"You mean that clingly blonde girl that's always with you?" Naruto continued. "She reminds me of someone…" he said thoughtfully.

"Shut up Naruto." Kiba growed. "Just leave me alone." He said, taking a sip of sake.

"Fine, fine." He said as he began to walk away. "You don't have to be so angry."

Kiba sighed and looked out the window into a cloudless starry sky.

"What's with Naruto?" Shino said, taking a seat beside his best friend and teammate. "Annoying as usual? But I don't see why you should get angry about it. I thought you were used to it by now."

"There are a lot of things you don't see Shino." Kiba said. "You wear sunglasses at night."

"Very funny Kiba." He said. "But there are reasons why I hide my eyes. I don't need them to know that there's a problem with you."

"If there is a problem, I can handle it by myself." Kiba said.

"Sure you can." He replied sarcastically, and made his way back to the main table.

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It's been four years ever since Ino Yamanaka set foot in Konohagakure to train with Anko Mitarashi. She learned many things, mostly in intelligence gathering, because her family's mind-jutsu skills could provide an edge.

"Is it really over?" Ino said as she packed her bags.

"You've grown a lot in four years." Anko replied. "I've taught you all you can learn from me."

"I can't believe we're going home." She said, smiling.

"Don't you miss Konoha?" she asked.

"Of course I do." The blond replied. "It's just that-"

"You can't run away forever Ino."

"I know, I know." She said with a sigh. "I'll prove that you trained me well."

And they began their journey back to Konoha.

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:Well, there it is. It's kind of a prologue to the sort-of-sequel, which continues the Kiba-Ino part of the story. More Than Words Could Ever Say.

:Thanks for following the story till the end! Especially to everyone who reviewed!


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